Nonprofit Highlight – April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month

The Methodist Home for Children and Youth

The Methodist Home for Children and Youth is more than a home for children, it is also a home for a host of children and family programs and services. With six sites across South Georgia (Macon, Americus, Valdosta, St. Marys, Columbus and Waverly Hall), they have a range of more than 15 services. For nearly 137 years, The Methodist Home for Children and Youth has provided a healing, nurturing setting for children in the least restrictive and most appropriate environment.  They have established Regional Group Homes to provide specialized care nearer to the child’s natural home located in Americus, Valdosta, Columbus, and St. Marys.  For more information, you can visit their website at www.themethodisthome.org.  

The Camden County CASA (court Appointed Special Advocate) program was established in 1997 to provide advocacy services for abused and neglected childen in Camden County who are at risk and have been placed in foster care.  Advocacy services are provided through trained volunteers who are appointed by the Juvenile Court to represent the child until the child is placed in a permanent and safe home.  Volunteers serve as an independent reporting source and as a voice for children who otherwise have no representation in a system focused on parents and state regulations.  A CASA volunteer’s focus is to present an opinion based on interviewing and investigation as to the best interest of the children being served regarding placement, to help reduce the time a child spends in care, and to be a constant resource and advocate for children who often have no other continuous figure of support due to changes in homes, schools, caseworkers and often even family members.  For more information regarding the Camden County CASA program, please visit their website at www.casacamden.org.

Nonprofit Hightlight – Habitat for Humanity of Camden County

 

Moving faith to action, Habitat for Humanity of Camden County advocates for and builds decent affordable housing to enhance lives and strengthen Camden County in partnership with the community.

 

Through volunteer labor and donations of money and materials, Habitat for Humanity of Camden County builds and rehabilitates houses in partnership with families in need.  Habitat houses are affordable because there is no profit included in the sale price and no interest is charged on the mortgage. The familys’ monthly mortgage payments go into a revolving fund which is used to build more houses.  Homeowners are chosen based on their need for affordable housing, their ability to repay a Habitat mortgage and their willingness to partner with Habitat.

 

For more information about Habitat for Humanity of Camden County, you can visit their website at www.hfhcamden.org.

Nonprofit Highlight – The STAR Foundation

The STAR (Southern Technological Advocacy Resources) Foundation was established in 1997 to serve low-income individuals and benefit the local business community by providing computer-based instruction and job skills training to low-income individuals. The program began as a partnership with the Brunswick Housing Authority where they would teach people how to use a computer. The initial “pilot” class of five residents had to share a computer, but all successfully completed the training and each continues to be gainfully employed. 

 

In the years since, the program has expanded beyond the residents of the Brunswick Housing Authority to the broader community with over 797 graduates to date. Since the program does not receive any type of government assistance, they rely solely on foundation, corporate and individual support. In addition to providing computer educational programs, STAR also serves as a “recycling center” where individuals and businesses can donate computer systems that are repaired if necessary and given to program graduates and approved non-profit organizations.

 

The curriculum provided during the 10-week course includes computer skills such as keyboarding, Microsoft Office, Windows XP and Internet basics; job skills such as resume writing, workplace behavior and workplace ethics; and life skills such as budgeting, community involvement, homeownership, time management and conflict resolution. 

 

In addition to benefiting these individuals, the business community benefits from an increased and better-trained pool of available workers and the community benefits as these individuals move from welfare to providing their own financial support.

 

For more information regarding the STAR Foundation, you can visit their website at www.starfoundation.org .

Nonprofit Highlight – Magnolia Manor

Magnolia Manor opened in 1963 in response to the need for safe, secure housing and long-term care for the elderly. Today, Magnolia Manor provides, as a ministry of the United Methodist Church, a variety of 23 quality retirement communities throughout southern Georgia. Magnolia Manor’s strategic direction is to be a leading provider of retirement living opportunities and to bring the best resources of staff, facilities, programs, and Christian compassion to focus on meeting the needs of their residents and the resident’s family.

For more information, please visit Magnolia Manor’s website at www. magnoliamanor.com .

Fall 2008 Grants Announced

November 24, 2008

The Board of Directors of the St. Marys United Methodist Church Foundation, Inc. has approved grants for the Fall 2008 Grant Cycle.  Grants totaling $1,188,500 will be made to 15 charitable organizations the week of December 1, 2008.  The following is a brief description of each recipient and the purpose of the grant.

 

Camden County CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates)(www.camdencasa.org)

A $40,000 grant to the Camden County Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program in Kingsland, Georgia to support operational costs for 2009.  CASA is a statewide program, established in Camden County in 1997 to provide advocacy services for abused and neglected children in Camden County who have been placed in foster care. Advocacy services are provided through trained volunteers who are appointed by the Juvenile Court to represent the child until the child is placed in a permanent and safe home. 

  

Connectional Ministries of the South Georgia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church

A $25,000 grant to Connectional Ministries, an agency of the South Georgia Annual Conference in St. Simons Island, Georgia, to support two South Georgia Conference Confirmations Retreats during 2009 for the children of the conference churches that are preparing for church membership.

  

The Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy (www.ferstfoundation.org )

A $54,000 grant to the Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy in Madison, Georgia to provide startup funding for a program in Camden County which partners with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to send out age appropriate books to children ages birth to 5 years old at no cost in Camden County.  The organization encourages children to dream through reading and encourages parent involvement to achieve early school success with the goal to assist every child to be reading ready before entering kindergarten.

 

Methodist Home for Children and Youth (www.themethodisthome.org)

A $75,000 grant to the Methodist Home for Children and Youth in Macon, Georgia to support the fiscal year 2009 operating budget.  The Methodist Home is an agency of the South Georgia Annual Conference that seeks to provide a healing, nurturing setting for children, youth and families in need through regional group homes.

 

The Vashti Center for Children and Families (www.vashti.org)

A $50,000 grant to the Vashti Center in Thomasville, Georgia to support the costs of a new community services building. The Vashti Center is an agency of the South Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church providing a number of various services to children including an emergency shelter, long-term basic care, intermediate residential treatment for emotionally disturbed children, a home for teen mothers and their infant children, marriage and family counseling, and basic education for at-risk youth who have been removed from the public education system.  The new community services building will provide additional space necessary to expand program services within the community.

 

 

  

STAR Foundation (www.starfoundation.org)

A $22,000 grant to the STAR Foundation in Brunswick, Georgia to support the fiscal year 2009 operating budget.  The STAR Foundation assists individuals in achieving self-sufficiency and economic stability through computer literacy and job readiness training. 

 

 

 Hospice of the Golden Isles (www.hospiceofthegoldenisles.com)

A $50,000 grant to the Hospice of the Golden Isles in Brunswick, Georgia to support the 2009 operational expenses for Jolley House, a residential facility for hospice.  Jolley House provides residential services to indigent and low income persons who are terminally ill.

  

Wesley Glen Ministries (www.wesleyglenministries.com)

A $50,000 grant to Wesley Glen Ministries in Macon, Georgia to support the FY2009 operating budget for the overall organization.  Wesley Glen is a ministry of the South Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church and serves people with mental disabilities in central and south Georgia.

  

America’s Second Harvest Food Bank of Coastal Georgia (www.helpendhunger.org)

A $45,000 grant to America’s Second Harvest in Brunswick, Georgia to support a Mobile Food Pantry to service Brantley, Charlton and Camden Counties.  America’s Second Harvest Food Bank of Coastal Georgia was established in Savannah in 1981 to provide hunger relief services to counties in southeast Georgia and in 2006 America’s Second Harvest established a food distribution warehouse in Brunswick, Georgia to serve the four counties of Camden, Glynn, Brantley, and Charlton. 

 

Open Door Community House (www.opendoorcommunityhouse.org)

A $75,000 grant to Open Door Community House in Columbus, Georgia to support the organization’s FY2009 operating budget.  Open Door is an agency of the South Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church and provides a number of social services to low and moderate-income residents of Muscogee County, Georgia.  Services include case management for homeless women, programs for children, youth and senior citizens, a clothing ministry, a community parenting program, a GED program, a transition home for women in crisis and a showering program for the homeless.

 

United Way of Camden and Charlton Counties

A $35,000 grant to the United Way of Camden and Charlton Counties to provide funding for the start up and implementation of a 211 information system for Camden County.  This represents the first year of a three-year commitment to the project.  The 211 system is an easy to remember telephone number that connects callers to information about critical health and human services for every day needs and in times of crisis.  The system is also web based so individuals as well as service providers can seek and update information online.

 

ECHO (www.echonet.org)

An $80,000 grant to ECHO (Educational Concerns for Hunger) in Ft. Myers, Florida to establish regional offices and create formal partnerships in East and West Africa to make the agricultural resources of ECHO more accessible.  This represents the first year of a three-year commitment to this project. ECHO is a Christian organization established in 1981 to strengthen the ministries of missionaries and national churches as they work with small rural farmers and urban gardeners in developing countries.

 

Coastal Medical Access Project (CMAP) (www.cmapga.org)

An $87,500 grant to CMAP in support of their sustainability initiative to expand services in southeast Georgia.  This represents the fourth year of a four-year commitment to this project.  CMAP provides access to free pharmaceuticals, access to medical service, and chronic disease case management and serves the uninsured and under-insured residents of Camden, Charlton and Brantley counties. 

 

 

 UMCOR (www.umcor.org)

A grant of $100,000 to the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) to support the development and implementation of a U.S. based disaster management software system.  The web-based system provides the capability to communicate with the Coordinated Assistance Network (CAN) and consequently any other disaster response agencies that utilize a web based database and will benefit disaster victims and organizations (including but not limited to UMCOR) that respond to disasters for many years to come. This represents the second year of a three-year commitment to this project.  UMCOR was established by the United Methodist Church in 1940 in response to the suffering of people during World War II and continues to provide a channel through which people may express their Christian compassion for people around the globe, often the poorest in society, who are undergoing hardship and suffering as a result of natural catastrophes, conflicts or wars. UMCOR is called on to provide immediate relief and long-term recovery wherever and whenever needed.

 

Church World Service (www.churchworldservice.org)

A $400,000 grant to Church World Service to support an expansion of the Africa Initiative – Giving Children Hope Program in East and Southern Africa. This grant represents the second grant in the first year of a 3-year partnership between Church World Service and the St. Marys United Methodist Church Foundation referred to as the Africa Initiative. The goal of this initiative is to protect the rights of and to provide support to orphans and vulnerable children living in the countries of Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Mozambique and Zambia who have been affected by HIV/AIDS, war and famine that they may be empowered to manage their own well being and the stability of their families, to participate in the social and economic development of their communities, and to live in the shelter of hope. The initiative will reinforce the capacity of and support the expansion of church and related organizations to build child-centered programs and networks.

 

The St. Marys United Methodist Church Foundation, Inc. was organized in January 2001 to support the charitable activities of the St. Marys United Methodist Church. Annual grant distributions will typically represent about 3% to 5% of the Foundation’s value. The Foundation awards grants twice each year, in the spring and the fall. Grant proposals are accepted year round. Proposals received from December 2^nd to June 1^st will be considered for the Fall cycle while proposals received from June 2^nd to December 1^st will be considered for the Spring cycle. Proposals to be considered must be related to:

 

Children, Youth and Family – Agencies of the South Georgia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church and programs in southeast Georgia (Camden, Glynn, Brantley and Charlton Counties) that promote the spiritual, mental and/or physical well being of children, youth and families.

 

Adults and Elderly – Agencies of the South Georgia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church and programs in southeast Georgia (Camden, Glynn, Brantley and Charlton Counties) that promote the spiritual, mental and/or physical well being of adults and elderly.

 

Health, Mental Health, and Mental Retardation – Agencies of the South Georgia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church and programs in southeast Georgia (Camden, Glynn, Brantley and Charlton Counties) that provide research, treatment, or care in the fields of health, mental health and mental retardation.

 

Christian Education, Evangelism, and Missions – Agencies of the South Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church and programs that equip God’s people for evangelism, programs whose sole focus is spreading the Gospel, and mission programs which seek to spread the Gospel through local southeast Georgia (Camden, Glynn, Brantley and Charlton Counties).

 

Additional information about the St. Marys United Methodist Church Foundation, Inc. is available on the Internet at www.smumcfoundation.org or by calling 912-510-9350.

Nonprofit Highlight: CareNet Pregnancy Center of Coastal Georgia

The CareNet Pregnancy Center of Coastal Georgia is a Christ-centered ministry dedicated to advancing the sanctity of human life and sexual purity.  CareNet provides Christian counseling and free pregnancy testing to women, particularly to those in their teens and other single, first-time mothers.  CareNet has also undergone a medical conversion of their Kingsland and Brunswick, Georgia offices to be able to provide ultrasounds for pregnant women as well as testing for STDs.

Nonprofit Highlight: Camden House

Camden House was established in 1987 and has operated as an emergency shelter since 1990 providing safety, confidentiality and support for people in Camden and Charlton counties who are victims of domestic violence.  Their mission is to develop and nuture non-violent relationships among family members; shelter victims of family violence; aid and counsel family violence victims; provide intervention to prevent further crimes of abuse; and, attend to these worthwhile goals in a systematic and humane manner.  For more information you can contact their office at 912-882-7858.

Nonprofit Highlight – CMAP

The Coastal Medical Access Project (CMAP) is the collaborative effort of Camden Medical Center, Southeast Georgia Health Systems and the local governments and human resource agencies of Glynn and McIntosh counties working together to improve health care access for the underinsured and uninsured of three rural counties in southeast Georgia. 

The goal of CMAP is to establish a system of health care delivery, primarily to the “working poor”, which will augment existing services by providing the following services:

 

-          Pharmaceutical assistance through Medbank

-          Medical access through  “free clinics”

-          Chronic disease management.

For more information about CMAP, please visit their website at www.cmapga.org.

 

 

 

Nonprofit Highlight: UMCOR

 

The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is the not-for-profit global humanitarian aid organization of the United Methodist Church.  UMCOR is working in more than 80 countries worldwide, including the United States.  Their mission, grounded in the teachings of Jesus, is to alleviate human suffering—whether caused by war, conflict or natural disaster, with open hearts and minds to all people.

UMCOR responds to natural or civil disasters that are interruptions of such magnitude that they overwhelm a community’s ability to recover on its own.

For more information about UMCOR you can visit their website at http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umcor/.

 

 

 

Nonprofit Highlight: Wesley Glen Ministries

Established in 1984, Wesley Glen Ministries serves adults with mental disabilities by provided a home environment and continuum of programs to allow each individual to develop skills and greater confidence, living happy, full lives as contributing members of their Wesley Glen family and the surrounding community.  Wesley Glen is a private, not for profit agency and ministry of the South Georgia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.  Their goal is to increase the public’s awareness to the stregths and barriers realted to people with mental disabilities, while being committed to providing services, in a Christian atmosphere, that improve the quality of life for indiviudal and their families.  Welsey Glen owns and maintains seven group homes in Macon, one in St. Marys, two in Lyons, and two in Jesup, Georgia.  For the current residents of Macon and St. Marys, Wesley Glen Ministries also provided programs and services, such as Individual Service Plans and supported employment.  For more information about Wesley Glen Ministries, you can visit their website at www.wesleyglenministries.org.