Back 
This is awesome!
Rebekah Henry hopes that a new collaborative project, Hidden Thoughts: Visual Communication, will give children who are victims of domestic violence and child abuse a way to express their experiences and emotions.
"They'll learn art theory, how to put colors together, lines and shading. Then we'll talk about social commentary in art," said the executive director for the Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art.
The children will meet once a week for instruction and focus on artists who used art to express what was going on around them. The children will then create their own pieces as a form of art therapy, she said.
The 10-month project will begin in January. Once it's complete, artwork will be displayed at the Augusta Headquarters Library.
"We're really excited about the project. It's a chance for the public to see the effect that these crimes have on children," she said.
The project is being funded by a $4,160.90 unrestricted grant from The Community Foundation for the Central Savannah River Area. The organization is one of 34 announced as recipients of $400,000 in unrestricted grants Friday at Enterprise Mill Events Center.
"The organizations who receive grants are selected by citizens from the community who review the applications in a very thorough process," said Aubrey Rhodes, the chairman of the board of directors of the foundation. "So these recipients are being chosen by the community."
The grants were awarded for a variety of uses, including helping with an organization's program operating expenses, expansion of established programs, implementation of new programs and purchase of equipment to support services.
Broad Street Ministry Center received $9,644 to purchase a digital X-ray for its HOPE Dental Clinic, which is operated on Fridays with the help of volunteer dentists.
"We serve the uninsured adults only. We target the working poor," said Cathy Gilbert, the assistant director of the Broad Street Ministry Center. "
The grants are primarily supported by donations from the Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament. The grants are awarded annually to organizations in Aiken, Burke, Columbia, Edgefield, McDuffie and Richmond counties that focus on arts/cultural; civic affairs; community development; education; environmental services; human services; health; and children/youth/family services.
Reach Nikasha Dicks at (706) 823-3336 or nikasha.dicks@augustachronicle.com.
GRANT RECIPIENTS
- 100 Black Men of Augusta Inc., $9,644: To assist with the operation of the Saturday Academy programs for mentored youths and their parents
- Aiken County Teen Pregnancy Prevention Council, $9,644: To implement Girls Circle, a research-based model that encourages girls to be themselves within a structured support group for girls ages 9-18
- Aiken Performing Arts Group Inc., $9,644: To enlarge and enhance the Instruments in Your Attic project; begin a partnership with University of South Carolina's Music Department to bring music students to area schools for outreach; take Hot 8's Brass Band to the only charter school to perform and interact
- The Art Factory Inc., $9,644: To provide at-risk teens an opportunity to learn visual art skills through Art on the Wall, a community service project in which a large scale mural will be created enhancing the clear well wall at the Highland Avenue facility of the Augusta Utilities Department
- Augusta Biomedical Research Corp., $9,644: To provide up to three marriage-enrichment retreats for 48 couples having serious to critical marriage issues as a result of combat stress
- Augusta Canal National Heritage Area, $15,000: To expand programming in the sciences and math by adding new portable exhibits to teach about the interaction of the man-made and natural environments, and by creating standards-based lesson plans using these exhibits and the canal for discovery-based learning
- Augusta Judicial Circuit Drug Court, $15,000: For drug treatment and counseling in the substance abuse treatment program
- Augusta Technical College Foundation, $9,644: To provide tuition, book fee and uniform fee assistance to students in need who are enrolling in the associate degree nursing program beginning in fall 2010
- Augusta Urban Ministries, $9,644: To fund the furniture bank operations, which provide furniture, household items, coats, blankets and bikes to clients
- The B.E.L.L. Foundation, $15,000: To help launch the B.E.L.L. summer program to enable 300 underperforming children to achieve gains in their literacy and math skills and enhance social development
- Broad Street Ministry Center, $9,644: To purchase a digital X-ray for HOPE Dental Clinic, a dental ministry where area dentists and dental professionals volunteer to provide care each Friday to adults who do not have dental insurance
- Center for New Beginnings, $15,000: To provide individual counseling, "shadowing" services, respite and tutoring to children and adolescents with special needs and their families
- Child Enrichment Inc., $9,644: To continue providing crisis and long-term counseling, advocacy and forensic interviewing services for abused children
- Children's Place Inc., $9,644: To purchase a 14-passenger bus to provide transportation to and from the organization for young children who have experienced abuse and neglect, have serious behavior problems or severe developmental delays
- Downtown Cooperative Church Ministries Inc., $9,500: To provide food to the needy in Augusta and for the purchase of refrigeration and computer equipment
- Full Circle Refuge Inc., $15,000: For the support of the Gang Prevention Youth Mentoring Program, an intense program for high-risk youth
- Georgia Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, $9,644: To equip 45 students with disabilities who are enrolled in the High School High Tech programs at their schools with high-end refurbished laptops and assistive technology software to complete projects so they may graduate from high school and quickly transition to technical colleges, universities or employment after graduation
- Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art, $4,160.90: To present a collaborative project, Hidden Thoughts: Visual Communication, a yearlong program for children who are victims of domestic violence and child abuse
- Gospel Water Branch Elderly Housing Inc., $14,000: To secure equipment, recreational aids and staff training software for the care of elderly residents
- Interfaith Hospitality Network of Augusta, $15,000: For operating expenses of the day center, the children's day shelter and the nine transitional dwellings -- all for the benefit of homeless or low-income families
- Le Chat Noir, $15,000: For Theatre Libre (free theater), a cultural infusion project making performance art more accessible to the underserved
- The Lydia Project, $9,644: For the provision of prescription, rent and/or utility assistance to women receiving cancer treatment and facing financial crisis because of their medical status
- Lynndale Inc., $9,644: To furnish and update a computer lab to be used for training for staff and life skills classes for Lynndale participants
- McDuffie Care Inc., dba MANNA, $14,000: To provide additional energy-efficient freezer capacity for bulk-food storage with a walk-in freezer
- Old Fellow Burke County Rescue, $5,575: To continue the spay/neuter program, prevent the propagation of communicable disease and reduce the incidents of dog bite injuries
- Rachel Longstreet Foundation, $14,951.66: To add lighting and sound systems to the arts program of the Jessye Norman School of the Arts, allowing the participants to have more professional arts education and creating a wider variety of musical and theatrical performances
- Ronald McDonald House Charities of Augusta, $15,000: To provide meals, lodging, transportation and emergency funds for families of children receiving medical treatment
- Salvation Army of Augusta, $15,000: For facilitator training, workshop materials, educational play area upgrades and curricula to implement the first phase of the Women's Skills Training Project
- Savannah River Cancer Foundation, $8,400: To fund a portion of the Patience Assistance Program, which helps low-income cancer patients pay for cancer-related prescriptions and transportation expenses to and from treatment and medical appointments.
- Shiloh Comprehensive Community Center, $14,400: For the continuation of Project YES, a male youth initiative with a mission of improving the educational opportunities of young men by way of tutoring, college readiness, mentorship and literacy based workshops
- Southeastern Firefighters' Burn Foundation Inc., $15,000: To financially assist needy burn patients and their families' services, including pressure (anti-scarring) garments, medications, transportation and lodging at the Jeffrey Vaden Chavis House
- Southeastern Natural Sciences Academy, $9,644: To address low math and science scores by integrating technologically based water-research data into the existing standards-based environmental education programs for students
- University of South Carolina Educational Foundation, $15,000: To produce a quality video documentary that will contribute in-depth qualitative data about the Pickens-Salley House located on the campus of USC Aiken, the two women who lived there and the history the house has seen
- When HELP Can't Wait, $9,644: For operating expenses, for the clothes program, which directly affects nursing home residents, and for the purchase of products needed to provide therapeutic spa treatments for the residents
Comments
This is awesome!
The Community Foundation of the C.S.R.A. is one of those hidden treasures in our community that impacts quality of life in a very positive way quietly without a great deal of fanfare. Since its inception in the late 1990's it has supported the works of numerous non-profits in Greater Augusta largely through the millions of dollars generously contributed through the Masters Golf Tournament Fund of The Augusta National. Thanks to people like Doug Barnard, Charlie Bellman, Randy Kohl, Billy Morris & the Red & Ann Boardman & sons family and Lee Smith the Foundation's President this fine organization has made & is making a significant impact on the life of thousands of our fellow citizens. Hats off to those who give back.
Thanks so much to those that care to give of themselves for the betterment of others.
Thanks so much to all... Great programs.
The Augusta Chronicle ©2012. All Rights Reserved.
