On Tuesday, June 14 Macon-Bibb County City Hall, the Community Foundation of Central Georgia joined Mayor Lester Miller and community leaders to announce the first round of Macon Violence Prevention (MVP) grant recipients. More than $800,000 in funding is being awarded to 25 nonprofit and faith-based organizations as part of ongoing efforts to prevent violent crime in Macon-Bibb County.
“The Community Foundation is pleased to be part of this historic effort to prevent violent crime in our community,” said Kathryn Dennis, President of the Community Foundation of Central Georgia. “We look forward to working with these diverse organizations as they use these resources to make their good ideas a reality for our community.”
In 2021, Mayor Miller invited community leaders to come together to address violent crime through the Macon Violence Prevention program. Following 14 community forums and community-wide surveys, these leaders developed the Macon Violence Prevention Strategic Plan, with an emphasis on youth outreach. Grant recipients were asked to submit applications for evidence-based programming that aligns with the MVP Strategic Plan.
“The solution to violent crime in our community will be found in all of us working together on the same team,” explained Mayor Lester Miller. “The fact that more than 50 organizations came to the table with good ideas and applied for MVP grants shows that the people of our community are committed to this historic effort. If we continue to work together, we will create a safer, stronger community now and for future generations.”
Macon Violence Prevention and Community Foundation 2022 Grant Recipients
| Applicant | Program Title | Bullet Description | Approved by CFCG Board of Directors | Geographic Area Served |
|
Lead With Literacy |
Macon Family Time | Macon Family Time is a program designed to engage families in meaningful reading and learning activities. | $40,000.00 | Lewis Elementary 1st (off Edna Place) |
|
Crisis Line – Safe House of Middle Georgia
|
Enhancing Safety for Victims of Domestic Violence | This proposal by Crisis Line & Safe House of Central Georgia (CL&SH) is a three-pronged approach at increasing safety for victims of domestic violence and holding their offenders accountable. | $45,000.00 | Entire County |
|
PACE Center for Girls, Inc.
|
Empowering Girls Against Violence | Pace will add another Reach Therapist for a year to serve 30 additional young women in Bibb County | $40,000.00 | Bloomfield, Unionville, Bellevue, Napier Heights, West Macon, Pleasant Hill, Anthony Homes |
|
Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Heart of Georgia
|
Mentoring for Change Youth Violence Prevention Program | Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Heart of Georgia will help organizations that may not have the experience, staffing, funding, safety measures, data collection, or wherewithal to have their own standalone youth mentoring program by collaborating with them and providing the backbone of these fundamentals to ignite their own grassroots youth service programs at no charge to them. | $50,000.00 | Entire County |
|
Chess and Community, Inc.
|
Chess and Community Inc.’s Leadership Training Program (CCLTP) | Chess and Community, Inc. (CCI) prepares youth to lead by focusing on academic enrichment, civic engagement, career and entrepreneurial skills development, and cultural education. CCI develops youth to transform the community. | $50,000.00 | Napier Heights, Pleasant Hill, Unionville, East Macon |
|
Campus Clubs, Inc.
|
“Safety In Numbers” – Providing Access to Transportation and Programming for Middle and High School Students | Campus Club will open afterschool and summer programming for middle and high school students. | $50,000.00 | Pleasant Hill, Midtown, Downtown |
|
Family Counseling Center of Central Georgia, Inc.
|
Access and Awareness – Mental Health/Wellness Counseling | Family Counseling Center will hire an additional therapist to serve more people in Macon-Bibb County. | $30,000.00 | Census Tracts 101, 105, 111, 124, 127, & 128 |
|
Next Level Community Development Center
|
The Hope Project | Next Level Community Development Center will supplement its existing summer and after school programs to include an individualized remediation tutorial and a comprehensive, evidence-based, prevention/intervention program for youth, parents, and families. | $90,000.00 | Heard, Heritage, Ingram Pye, Porter, Skyview, Union, Veterans, Vineville, Alex II, Ballard Hudson, Miller, Rutland Middle & High, Weaver, Central, Southwest, Westside |
|
Fathers Among Men (F.A.M)
|
Activate Saturdays- | Heart of Georgia Advisory Council is comprised of eight collaborating to bring programming to youth on the Westside two Saturdays each month for a year | $16,000.00 | West side of Macon, Bloomfield, Gilead & Frank Johnson Rec Centers |
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Streetline Percussion, Inc.
|
StreetLine Percussion: Making A Drumazing Difference | Street Line Percussion, Inc. (SLP) will engage at least 50 more participants, and prepare them to become more socially, emotionally, and academically well, physically fit, and better prepared to be thriving and productive citizens in our community. | $40,000.00 | Entire County |
|
Unity-N-Community Inc.
|
Youth Summer Challenge | Unity-N-Community’s Youth Summer Challenge will give students a structured activity in the late afternoon and early evening on Saturdays during the summer to promote self-confidence, conflict resolution, and reduced gun violence. | $40,000.00 | Pleasant Hill, Unionville, Bloomfield, South Bibb, Northside |
|
Project 32
|
Mitigating Violence Program(M.V.P) | Project 32 combines sports, physical activities, and therapy to help at-risk youth channel their negative energy into positive behaviors. | $25,000.00 | Bloomfield |
| Bloomfield Church of God | Community Sundays at Village Green | Macon-Bloomfield Church of God will expand the number of monthly events for community members to every other Sunday for the year in the Bloomfield area | $15,000.00 | Bloomfield, Village Green, & surrounding areas |
| S.A.L.T. is Life, Inc. | Teen mental Health First Aid | S.A.L.T. will offer the evidenced-based Teen Mental Health First Aid program and will “train the trainer” to eventually offer this program throughout the County. | $20,000.00 | Central, Northeast, and Southwest High Schools, plus virtual options for other areas of county |
| Girls Dig Deeper Initiative | The Winner’s Mindset | Girls Dig Deeper will offer a 90-day leadership development program designed to help young girls overcome barriers such as childhood poverty, chronic absenteeism, poor academic achievement, disability adverse childhood experiences and community violence. | $5,500.00 | East Macon |
|
Centenary Community Ministries, Inc.
|
Transitional Housing Program | Centenary Community Ministries will continue its transitional housing program for men in recovery from drug and alcohol abuse. | $50,000.00 | House in Beall’s Hill, but those served are from throughout the County |
|
Storytellers Macon
|
Heart and Soul Workshop | Heart and Soul Workshops are an alternative school-break service-learning program designed to utilize hands-on activities to build both tangible skills in creative industries as well as soft skills to encourage positive civic attitudes | $25,000.00 | Pleasant Hill |
|
U Create Macon
|
Free Bikes For Kids | U-Create Macon is a program designed to increase transportation options for kids in Macon-Bibb to get them to our recreation departments, parks, jobs, and other community events and programs. | $15,000.00 | East Macon, Pleasant Hill, Lynmore Estates, and Macon Housing Authority Developments |
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Grow Macon Inc.
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Grow Macon: Plants, People & Places | Grow Macon is an urban community garden project dedicated to reducing food insecurity, providing more supervised youth activities while also fostering character development and relationship building within their own community. | $20,000.00 | East Macon/Fort Hill |
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Central Georgia CASA, Inc.
|
CASA Volunteers for Youth | Central Georgia CASA will recruit and train volunteers to serve older youth, and fund staff to provide supervision and support to these volunteers. | $25,000.00 | Entire County |
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The Community CEO LLC
|
Fundamental Manhood Development Project for the 21st Century | The Fundamental Manhood Development Project is designed to reduce gun violence, recidivism, and implement focused deterrent practices to at-risk youth in Unionville. | $20,000.00 | Unionville |
|
Georgia Suns Youth Empowerment
|
Ombudsman for MVP Community Groups | This grant will support staffing stipends for a collaboration of 7 community organizations that work with youth aged 6-26, many of whom are young parents, to provide services such as tutoring, life and job skills, and physical activity. | $40,000.00 | South, West, and East Sides of Macon |
| Faith In Action Holiness Church | Early Childhood Entrepreneurship Fellowship | This program is designed to teach women how to start their own business in the childcare industry. | $8,500.00 | Unionville |
|
Macon Arts Alliance, Inc.
|
Anti Violence Academia | The Anti Violence Academy is designed to offer youth ages 9-17 and their families. Enrichment activities and programs to promote positive youth, parent, and family development. This is a fiscal sponsorship. | $25,000.00 | Bloomfield & surrounding communities |
| Boy Scouts of America – Central GA Council
|
Mentors in Scouting | The Mentors in the Scouting program will increase the number of mentors delivering co-ed, supervised youth activities to Macon’s children and young adults ages 5-20. | $40,000.00 | This project’s target neighborhoods include: Zone I: East I, including Ocmulgee East and Jeffersonville Rd; Zone II: East II, including Shurling Dr, Fort Hill, Gray Highway, and Davis Homes; Zone III: Central, including Greenwood Bottom, Pleasant Hills, Pendleton, and Felton Homes; Zone IV: West, including Bellevue, Unionville, Napier, Pio Nono, Mercer University, and Anthony Homes; Zone V: West/South, including Houston Ave, Murphy Homes, Eisenhower Pkwy, and Bloomfield |
| Total Awarded | $825,000.00 |
About Macon Violence Prevention
Macon Violence Prevention is an evidence-based, multifaceted program created to address public safety in Macon-Bibb County. Supported and funded by the consolidated government, MVP is a community-wide effort that brings together elected officials, community leaders and representatives from more than 20 agencies, organizations and departments.
The MVP program operates under the guidance of the MVP Strategic Plan, which was introduced in June of 2021. Created by community stakeholders and violent crime experts, this strategic plan combines data and research with community feedback to implement proven solutions that reduce violent crime and strengthen the community over time.