$15,000 in grants were announced by the Community Foundation of Central Georgia
The Community Foundation of Central Georgia (CFCG) announced on Wednesday projects that received funding from their On The Table Macon Conversations to Action Mini-Grants.
Kathryn Dennis, the president at CFCG, said they awarded 17 grants out of 42 applicants that amounted to $15,000.
“I can’t tell you how happy I am today that this is the fruit of a lot of labor and love that went into bringing On The Table to our community,” Dennis said. “It’s not just the conversation. It’s about what we do after that conversation.”
The ideas for the projects came from conversations that happened at On The Table Macon on Oct. 17. On the Table is a national initiative funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
Dennis said they had a board of eight people go through the applications to decide which projects would receive grants.
“We really tried to look at what really seemed to bubble up from a conversation and that ... were really grass roots and people led and people driven,” Dennis said.
Renee Wilmore, a $1,000 grant recipient and with Evergreen Church of Macon, said she wants to organize an event for teens similar to On The Table to talk about their issues and produce actionable steps from their conversations. She said she wants to bridge the gap that teens have with adults, law enforcement and their communities.
“It’s truly a blessing to be able to receive the grant,” Wilmore said. “I’m actually excited that I was able to get some additional funding to help me move this project forward.”
The program will begin by having a movie viewing for teens about social issues they face and then having a conversation about them, according to the press release.
Latravius Smith, grant recipient and an administrator for Kingdom Life Church, said her church received $1,000 for their annual Mental Health Symposium focused on the impact mental health has in the community. She said Kingdom Life has put on this event for three years on a modest budget.
“To have the opportunity to have a little bit more funding to be able to go on a grander scale for this Mental Health Symposium is absolutely enthralling, and I am super excited to be able to put this on with a bigger budget this year,” she said.
According to the press release, the other grant recipients include:
Frankie Lewis of South Macon Arts Revitalization Technology, Inc. received a grant of $500 for an initiative, “It Takes a Village,” that will pair families in need with people who can help them.
Erica Duncan, a Mercer student and intern at BikeWalk Macon, received $500 to bring a national initiative, Safe Routes to Parks, to Macon.
Jill Vanderhoek with Community Partnership received $1,000 to start a program to provide transportation to grocery stores by using existing community assets.
Scott Mitchell with the Downtown Macon Community Association received $1,000 to place a portable restroom downtown.
Macon-Bibb County Commissioner, Virgil Watkins Jr., received $1,000 to create Community Courts, which will focus on reducing recidivism rates and providing reformative pathways.
Andrea Cooke received $1,000 to start Laundry Days, a program that will involve free tokens for laundry and conversations about the community while people wait on their clothes.
June O’Neal with the Mentor’s Project received $1,000 for a cookout and job fair in Unionville.
Daffeney Michell Hollis received $1,000 to expand Macon’s transportation system to the homeless.
Rena Canady-Laster with Central Georgia Technical College received $1,000 to start an initiative called Each One Reach One, which will have adult education students invite family and friends who have dropped out of school to a discussion about the education system.
Robin Crosby with Campus Clubs received $1,000 for a job training program involving students to adopt Culver Street.
Charise Stephens with the Middle Georgia Fitness and Wellness Festival received $1,000 for the Mount Homes Youth Agriculture Project.
Antonio Williams with the Pleasant Hill Neighborhood Association received two $1,000 grants. One will buy at least 50 coats for the children in the community, and the other will allow him to continue a monthly Community Clean Up.
Ernestine Thomas of the Lynmore Estates Neighborhood Association received two grants as well. $250 will be put toward buying branded t-shirts for the Lynmore Estates Youth Ambassadors, and $750 will go towards Lynmore Estates Porch Pilot Project which involves the Youth Ambassadors repairing houses of seniors and the disabled.
Dennis said the CFCG will be revealing in January the survey data that was gathered after On The Table, and they will announce a $5,000 grant on the same day. She said what the grant is for is a surprise.
Dennis said they plan to host another On The Table in October 2019 and hope to double the amount of grants awarded.
“I can’t thank the 5,000 people that participated in On The Table enough, and we hope we’ll have 10 or 20,000 residents participate in On the Table Macon in 2019,” Dennis said.