$2,607 awarded to Bryan County Schools
Coastal Electric Cooperative and its Foundation awarded three Bright Ideas grants totaling $2,607 to Bryan County Schools on Thursday, Oct. 23. The winners were greeted in their classrooms with a visit from the Bright Ideas Prize Patrol, who came with balloons, a presentation check, and gifts.
The local winners are:
• Carla Howard of Richmond Hill High School won a grant for her project Simulated Abuse Leads to Real Learning. She will use the money to purchase an interactive mannequin to introduce her Early Childhood Education students to the three preventable types of infant abuse -- fetal alcohol syndrome, the affects of drugs on an infant and shaken baby syndrome.
• Mary Jo Fina of Richmond Hill High School for her project, Cameras Across the Curriculum. Her class will use digital cameras and photo editing tools to produce photographic journals of local historical sites
Earlier this year teachers were invited to apply on-line through the Coastal Electric Cooperative website to compete to win grants of up to $2,000 each. The Bright Ideas program encourages teachers to develop creative, innovative programs that might not otherwise be funded thru the school system. A panel of independent judges reviews and scores the applications.
The Cooperative awarded 13 Bright Ideas grants this year. Since the program’s inception in 2002 more than $90,000 has been awarded to local teachers. The grants give teachers the power to put their creative teaching ideas into action. Applications are accepted from teachers instructing students in grades K-12.
Bright Ideas is made possible in part thru the voluntary donations of the Cooperative’s members who participate in Operation Round Up® -- members allow their electric bills to be rounded up to the nearest whole dollar. Those nickels and dimes each month are turned over to The Coastal Electric Cooperative Foundation which oversees the fund. The Foundation uses the money to assist with food, health, shelter, safety, and educational needs within the community.
Coastal Electric Cooperative is a customer-owned power supplier serving 16,000 members in Bryan, Liberty, Long and McIntosh counties. The Co-op is headquartered in Midway, GA