This summer, Jackson EMC Foundation – funded by contributions of the cooperative’s members – provided a $15,000 grant to Georgia-based nonprofit, Rainbow Village. Dedicated to breaking the cycles of homelessness, poverty and domestic violence in Georgia, Rainbow Village represents a community of transformation poised on a campus that houses five apartment buildings, administrative offices and community center that is home to the Village’s Early Childhood Development Center and After School Program. Thanks to this grant from Jackson EMC Foundation, the nonprofit can continue to provide child care for children of Rainbow Village residents, graduates of the Rainbow Village program and the surrounding community.

“We are extremely thankful to the Jackson EMC Foundation Board of Directors for selecting Rainbow Village to receive this grant,” said Reverend Melanie Conner, CEO of Rainbow Village. “I can’t tell you how gratifying it is to have an entity like the Jackson EMC Foundation truly see the value in the important work that we are doing here. From housing in fully furnished apartments and life-skills training to financial counseling and mental health services, all of our programs are important pieces in the puzzle for leading our residents from homelessness to hopefulness.  By mitigating the overwhelming economic burden childcare causes to working adults with children, the provision of early education and child care to their children means that parents can keep their focus on putting their lives back together in the wake of recent homelessness. It’s simply impossible to put a price tag on a blessing like that!”

Rainbow Village’s ECDC and its teachers serve up to 60 infants and children, ages 6 weeks to four years. The Center builds children’s cognitive skills, capacity for problem solving and self-esteem – preparing them for kindergarten and beyond. ECDC teachers observe and document their students’ proficiency in four developmental areas: social/emotional, physical, cognitive and language.