The Jackson EMC Foundation board of directors awarded a total $103,750 in grants during its January meeting, including $55,000 to agencies serving Hall County residents. $15,000 to Gainesville Action Ministries, a network of 25 Hall County congregations that work to prevent homelessness by providing emergency financial, food and clothing assistance and children’s services; to provide rent assistance enabling clients to stay in their homes as well as case management for them; and to offer financial literacy training to help break the cycle of poverty. $15,000 to the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center, a multi-use science, history, culture, heritage and environmental facility on a 700-acre campus in Buford, to allow students from low-income families in Barrow, Clarke, Gwinnett, Hall and Jackson counties to attend interpretative, hands-on field studies and educational programs. $15,000 to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Georgia Chapter to help cover copayments for qualified blood cancer patients in the 10 counties Jackson EMC serves. The society provides copay assistance from $2,500 to $10,000 per year per patient, depending on their diagnosis, and assisted 84 patients in Jackson EMC’s service area in the first three quarters of 2016. $10,000 to Angel House of Georgia, a Gainesville recovery residence for women with alcohol and/or drug addiction, to enable indigent women with no financial resources or support in Banks, Barrow, Clarke, Hall, Jackson and Madison counties to participate in the 12-month program by covering program fees and living expenses, offering women a second chance at life.