BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Telegraph Staff Writer
KEYSTONE HEIGHTS—The Clay Electric Foundation said it donated $90,400 to nonprofits focused on education during the foundation’s May grant cycle.
The Bradford County Education Foundation, Union County 4-H Association, and Alachua 4-H Association each received $20,000 from the co-op’s charitable arm.
The Bradford group will use the funds to purchase classroom books. Union 4-H will use its grant to support the Head, Heart, Hands and Health Program, which consists of learning projects to develop youth. The Alachua 4-H grant will go toward purchasing a passenger van to transport local youth to state and national programs.
Also receiving funding were the College of Central Florida Foundation in Ocala: $10,000, the Clay Education Foundation: $12,900; Junior Achievement of North Florida in Clay County: $2,500 and the Volusia County 4-H Association: $5,000.
The foundation awarded additional grants to:
—$20,000 to Happy House in Columbia County to purchase a shuttle bus for its after-school program;
—$20,000 to Epic-cure in Putnam County to purchase a forklift and power pallet jack;
—$15,000 to Created Gainesville for mental, dental, and counseling services for victims of sex trafficking and exploitation; —$5,000 to the Pregnancy Crisis Center in Columbia County to support its mobile unit expansion project;
—$10,000 to Gainesville Thrives for subscriptions to the Dolly Parton Imagination Library;
—$3,000 to the Trinity Foundation of Florida for application and counseling services for veterans and family members who qualify for benefits.
—$11,000 to Lake Butler Masonic Lodge #52 F&AM for repairs to the Masonic Lodge building;
—$1,000 to R3 Special Operations Response Corp. in Alachua County for the rescue and recovery of victims of sex trafficking;
—$5,000 to the Nehemiah Project in Putnam County for the nonprofit’s educational and programming costs. The group helps individuals and families faced with mental health and substance use challenges.
——$14,000 to the Hawthorne Area Resource Center for food pantry provisions and supplies as well as social services support to families in crisis;
—$5,000 to the Garden Club of Baker County for developing educational slide presentations and purchasing annual Christmas flowers for Meals-on-Wheels clients.
The Clay Electric Foundation receives its funding from the co-op’s members who voluntarily round their utility bills up to the nearest whole dollar.
