The Jackson Electric Membership Corporation Foundation board of directors awarded a total $81,572 in grants during their February meeting, including $35,000 to organizations serving area residents.

The local awards were:

—$15,000 to Boys & Girls Clubs of Athens to hire part-time staff that will provide instruction at both club locations for its Mind Blowers Program, a targeted supplemental math education program that teaches essential problem-solving and quantitative skills students will use in the classroom, work world and everyday life.

—$2,000 to Casa de Amistad, an Athens nonprofit providing social services, referrals, translation, education and advocacy to Latino and Hispanic families living below the poverty line in Barrow, Clarke, Jackson, Madison and Oglethorpe counties, to provide free GED instruction in Spanish to help them achieve their potential through education and employment, with a goal of becoming self-sufficient.

—$10,000 to Athens Urban Ministries, a grassroots organization dedicated to assisting those who need a hand up, to help provide instruction, technology and materials for GED training to help 85 individuals in Athens-Clarke, Barrow, Gwinnett, Jackson, Madison and Oglethorpe counties achieve their potential through education and employment, with a goal of becoming self-sufficient.

—$8,000 to the Gainesville/Hall County 96 Roundtable, a nonprofit organization formed to oversee operations and programs at the Lake Lanier Olympic Center for rowing, canoeing and kayaking, to purchase automated external defibrillators for the venue’s boathouse and an Olympic timing tower that will provide emergency medical treatment in cases of cardiac arrest.

Jackson EMC Foundation grants are made possible by the more than 184,700 participating cooperative members who have their monthly electric bills rounded to the next dollar amount through the Operation Round Up program. Their “spare change” has funded 1,165 grants to organizations and 342 grants to individuals, putting nearly $11.8 million back into local communities since the program began in 2005.

Any individual or charitable organization in the 10 counties served by Jackson EMC (Athens-Clarke, Banks, Barrow, Franklin, Gwinnett, Hall, Jackson, Lumpkin, Madison and Oglethorpe) may apply for a foundation grant by completing an application, available online at http://www.jacksonemc.com/foundation-guidelines or at local Jackson EMC offices. Applicants do not need to be a member of Jackson EMC.