August 2014
2014 CHRISTMAS TOUR OF HOMES
Ho, ho, ho, it's...

No, it's not quite Christmas, but work is busily underway for another incredible Christmas Tour of Homes at The Georgia Club! Gather with neighbors, friends, and family on Sunday, December 14, when you'll have a unique opportunity to tour five lovely homes located throughout the community that will be decorated for all to enjoy.  

As you delight in the joy of the season during the tour, your ticket helps raise money for two local organizations that perform important work in the community. Earlier in the year, Mercy Health Center and Project Safe were selected as beneficiaries of this year's tour.  

Born from a vision of ministry that began in 1999, Mercy Health was started by a small group of caring individuals with a common desire to use medicine as a way to minister to the needs of low-income, uninsured individuals in Athens. Now with a state-of-the-art facility, Mercy Health Center has expanded to offer programs including primary care, 15 different specialties, pharmacy and pharmacy counseling, dental services, health education, nutrition and exercise services, behavioral health, and social services. With the help of 700 volunteers and more than 21,000 hours of volunteer service, Mercy had over 10,000 patient visits in 2013.

Project Safe works to end domestic violence in our communities. They began as a network of safe houses, and in an effort to better meet the needs of individual seeking to put pain and horror of abuse behind them, they have expanded their programs to include prevention and education, crisis intervention, on-going support services, and systems change.  

Heartfelt thanks to the wonderful homeowners who will be kindly opening their homes this Christmas -

Angie and Kip Dominy   
Allyson and Keith Edenfield    
Dawn and Michael Gray
Linda and Brad Hull    
Jan and Monte Trotter

It takes the efforts of many caring volunteers to help ensure the tour is a success, and working with the tour during the festive Christmas season is especially fun! A variety of volunteer opportunities exist, and we have a perfect spot just for you. Sign up today!

Look for more information coming soon.

I AM FOR THE CHILD MOVEMENT

Tony Waller, Executive Director of Children First, and Georgia Club member Susan Williams, a CASA volunteer, visited with the Foundation board during their August meeting. 

CASA, which stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates, is a beneficiary of this year's Front Porch Foot Race and received at $5,000 from the Foundation.

The CASA movement began in 1977 when a Seattle juvenile court judge was concerned about making drastic decisions about the welfare of children in the foster care system based upon insufficient information. The result is a system that helps make sure that the abuse and neglect that children originally suffer at home does not continue at the hands of the social services system.  

We had an opportunity to hear first hand from Susan about being a CASA.  "I know my work as a CASA has directly impacted the lives of the children...read more"

Athens-Oconee CASA has an informational meeting in October.  Click here if you are interested in learning more.   
IN RECOGNITION
The Georgia Club Foundation is honored to receive a $25,000 donation from The Chu Family Foundation in August.  

Investing in education as their primary objective, The Chu Family Foundation recognizes the critical need for funds to support community collaborative educational programs. As a result, their commendable efforts support a variety of educational programs, including student scholarships (including for American descendants of Korean War veterans), donations to several colleges and universities, and investing in our local libraries.

By investing in education in the community, the Chus strongly believe that education is a shortcut for improving the quality of life for our children. Their donation to The Georgia Club Foundation is earmarked for the Scholarship Program and the Statham and Winder libraries. 
BOARD MEMBER HIGHLIGHT: Chairman Pat Hodgson
You never know who you might run into at The Georgia Club - notable business executives, celebrities, brilliant educators, and then there are sports professionals.  

For those who may not personally know him, Pat Hodgson, Chairman of The Georgia Club Foundation, is one of those very special people. Pat and his family hail from the Athens area where he played football at UGA. Some may know him for his infamous flea-flicker play when Georgia beat #5 Crimson Tide in the first televised game from Sanford Stadium in 1965. It was the only loss for Alabama in a national title season. We know him as a stanch Foundation supporter and our friend.    

Some of you saw a recent article about Pat in Golf Georgia. For those who did not get the chance to read the article, you can see it here.  
AN ONGOING FOUNDATION PROGRAM
The transition from summer to winter means many of us with be tidying up our closets, and we will gather clothes to give away. Please remember the Foundation's ongoing program to collect both clothing and food for the Barrow County Cooperative Benevolence Ministries (BCCBM) located in Winder.

We make it simple for you to help people in need through the donation of food (canned and dry goods) and clothing. Simply drop items in the collection bins located in The Georgia Club post offices.  

Residents of The Georgia Club have participated in the monthly food distribution for eight years now, and the Foundation and BCCBM are grateful for your enduring support.  If you would like to get involved, too, we will be happy to have you join us.  
BOOKS FOR KEEPS WORKS TO PREVENT SUMMER SLIDE
Books for Keeps works to improve children's reading achievement by addressing barriers related to the accessibility and appeal of reading material. They provide books to children whose reading opportunities outside of school might be otherwise limited due to geography, income, or other factors. 

The Georgia Club Foundation is pleased to continue our support of the important work of Books for Keeps performs in the community by making a $1,800 donation in August.  In recent years, funds from the Foundation were used for special purchases of beautiful Disney books.  

In exit surveys conducted by Books for Keeps with students at the May 2014 distributions, the books purchased with the Foundation grant were often cited by the students as the ones they were most excited about reading.  
THANKS TO OUR CORPORATE ANNUAL SPONSORS!