Two agencies serving area residents have been awarded grants totaling $12,000 by the Jackson EMC Foundation, a charity funded by the electric cooperative’s members through their donations to the Operation Round Up program.

A check for $10,000 was presented to the Gainesville Care Center, a pregnancy resource center, to replace an ultrasound machine, for which parts are no longer available, with an upgradable machine that should serve clients for years.

A check for $2,000 was presented to the Duds & Spuds Food & Clothing Pantry in Braselton to purchase bulk food for its food pantry.

Since the Jackson EMC Foundation began in 2005, it has funded 589 grants to organizations and 217 grants to individuals, putting more than $6.1 million back into local communities.

The Operation Round Up program allows participating electric cooperative’s members to have their monthly electric bills rounded up to the next dollar amount.

Any individual or charitable organization in the counties served by Jackson EMC (Clarke, Banks, Barrow, Franklin, Gwinnett, Hall, Jackson, Lumpkin, Madison and Oglethorpe) may apply for a Foundation grant by completing an application, available online at www.jacksonemc.com or at local Jackson EMC offices. Applicants do not need to be a member of Jackson EMC.