DOTHAN, Ala. (WTVY) – The rain didn’t stop a crowd from raising money for a good cause at the Azalea Swim and Tennis Club on Thursday night. Folks filled the tennis and pickleball courts to raise money for the Southeast Alabama Community Foundation (SACF).
SACF held its inaugural Spring Swing Pickleball and Tennis Social Fundraiser in conjunction with its annual grant presentation. $46,000 went to 16 area nonprofits Thursday night.
“It is unbelievable what nonprofits in our communities do for those that they serve,” Burton Crenshaw, the president of SACF, said. “From the animals to the elderly and it’s neat to be a part of that with them.”
Every year, the SACF awards grants to nonprofit projects and programs that serve Coffee, Dale, Geneva, Henry, and Houston counties.
“We always say, the more we pull our resources, the more we can all give out an make a difference,” Crenshaw said.
This money goes toward extensive educational and social service projects.
“It’s amazing what they can do with a dollar and how they can stretch it, but the hope that they are giving their clients by providing those services, it gives you chills,” Crenshaw said. “It’s just so heartwarming.”
The money raised in Thursday night’s fundraiser will be used to give out more grants next year.
“We all come together, we make a larger impact,” Crenshaw said. “The organization’s tonight coming and telling me, ‘Thank you,’ I tell them, ‘No, we thank you for letting us help you do the work you do,’” Crenshaw said.
Here is a breakdown of this year’s awarded grants:
- Education Grants ($32,750.00)
- $3,000.00 to Alabama Shakespeare Festival – to provide tickets for 300 students in Coffee, Dale, and Geneva counties to participate in SchoolFest, a comprehensive student matinee program
- $3,000.00 to Chrysalis, A Home for Girls – to support the costs of each Chrysalis foster care resident receiving individualized tutoring and support services through The Learning Center
- $3,000.00 to Dothan Houston County Library System – to support the Summer Reading Program, which encourages students to continue to read during summer months to prevent learning loss and provides incentives as they reach milestones and at completion of the program
- $3,000.00 to Dyslexia Community Resources – to support Camp D.I.G., a summer camp for students with dyslexia that provides campers with four hours of daily science-based reading instruction to address dyslexia paired with traditional camp activities
- $3,000.00 to Exchange Center for Child Abuse Prevention – to provide parenting classes for 100 parents with a focus on the impacts of adverse childhood experiences and trauma
- $3,000.00 to Liberty Learning Foundation, Inc. – to support the costs of implementing the American Character and Citizen Promise programs in two Dothan City Schools for the upcoming school year
- $3,000.00 to O’s Cool Bike Foundation – to provide 60 balance bikes with helmets to Community Action Program Head Start facilities in Coffee and Dale counties for their students to learn to ride a bike and lead a more active lifestyle
- $3,000.00 to Sight Savers America – to provide follow-up eye care for 40 children in Coffee County who failed a vision screening test
- $2,750.00 to Tri-State Expo Juneteenth Affairs, Inc. – to support an educational event at the 2024 Juneteenth Expo at the Dothan Civic Center featuring a panel discussion by expert historians about the historical significance of the Confederate States of America and Juneteenth holidays with the aim of advancing historical accuracy and cultural sensitivity
- $3,000.00 to Vivian B. Adams School – to support the installation of an inground trampoline to be used with a program of related exercises and therapeutic activities to reduce sensory imbalances for clients with autism spectrum disorder
- $3,000.00 to Wiregrass Museum of Art – to support First Saturday Family Day, a monthly free art workshop for all ages
- Social Services Grants ($13,250.00)
- $3,000.00 to Alabama Kidney Foundation – to provide financial assistance for medication, medical equipment, crisis and treatment transportation, utilities, and other basic needs of low-income kidney patients in Coffee, Dale, Geneva, Henry, and Houston counties
- $3,000.00 to House of Ruth, Inc. – to support the costs of support groups for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in Wiregrass counties
- $1,250.00 to Mary Hill Family Service Center – to support the costs of developing an inviting children’s activity room to enhance the Center’s programming for DHR- and court-referred families in Dale County, as the Center is a designated safe place for co-parenting exchanges of children and parents who must have supervised visitation with their children
- $3,000.00 to the Salvation Army of Dothan – to support the Utility Assistance Program makes payments to utility providers and provides workshops on budgeting and referrals to other social services for clients in financial distress
- $3,000.00 to Wiregrass Habitat for Humanity – to enhance the capacity of the Metal Recycle Addition Program by supporting the costs of creating a larger, more secure space
- Total Amount Awarded: $46,000.00
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