Palmetto, GA—November 20, 2015—Eleven Fayette school teachers were surprised with goodie bags, supplies and Bright Ideas checks ranging from $640 to $1,500 when a group of Operation Round Up representatives showed up Oct. 19-20 to announce winners in classrooms across the county.

 

Every year, Coweta-Fayette EMC’s Operation Round Up initiative gives educators the opportunity to apply for grants dedicated to special teaching projects not often available in tightly budgeted school systems. Through this program, the Coweta-Fayette Trust, Inc., Board of Directors awarded $30,000 in Bright Ideas grants for 2015 to 23 deserving recipients throughout the EMC service area.

 

Earlier in the year, the board asked K-12 teachers to submit proposals for innovative classroom projects, and nearly 60 grant applications were received. Without knowing the names of schools or the educators involved, a group of retired teachers from Coweta, Fayette and Heard Counties rated requests according to the level of creativity, as well as potential student involvement.

 

Winners in Fayette County were: Permeil Dass, Sandy Creek High, $1,500 for “Connecting and Growing”; Stephanie Lemons, Kedron Elementary, $1,460 for “Lead the Way”; Guy Serapion, Huddleston Elementary, $1,500 for “You Are My Sunshine”; Meehan Murphy, Rising Starr Middle; $1,500 for “Screen Printing Fashion Fundamentals”; Adele Moore, Huddleston Elementary, $1,064.80 for “Something to Buzz About – Coding with BeeBots”; Lisa Roby, Whitewater Middle, $1,500 for “iPads for iNdependence”; Grace Cannon, McIntosh High, $642.70 for “EnteroPluri Identification”; Gina Zollo Perrotta, Peeples Elementary, $1,500 for “Interactive Writer’s Workshop”; Gail Frantz, Peeples Elementary, $1,172 for “Please Lettuce Grow”; and Susan M. Boyd, Bennett’s Mill Middle, $1,382.49 for “Taking Care of Myself.”

 

The Bright Ideas program is sponsored by the Coweta-Fayette EMC Operation Round Up Trust from funds raised by EMC members who allow their bills to be “rounded up” to the nearest dollar each month. This is the 11^th year the Bright Ideas grant has been available, and it will be offered to educators once again for the 2015-2016 school year. Interested teachers are encouraged to begin working now on plans for their applications.

 

Operation Round Up is a Coweta-Fayette EMC program that contributes more than $250,000 each year to worthy groups in the cooperative service area. These awards are made possible by voluntary contributions from EMC members and managed through a separate board of directors, the Coweta-Fayette Trust, Inc., Board of Directors.

 

Coweta-Fayette EMC is a consumer-owned cooperative providing electricity and related services to more than 76,000 member accounts in Coweta, Fayette, Heard, South Fulton, Clayton, Spalding, Troup and Meriwether Counties.