Georgia Magazine - December 2021 - 14

Currents
News from Georgia's electric co-ops * Compiled by Amy Schneider
Flint Energies helps schools
pick up S.T.E.A.M.
F
lint Energies in Reynolds and its philanthropic arm, the
Flint Energies Foundation, awarded $5,000 worth of
educational grants to two schools in its service territory
as part of the co-op's Full S.T.E.A.M. Ahead program.
The Full S.T.E.A.M. Ahead program distributes grants of
$2,500 to schools to implement creative, innovative projects with
their students in the areas of science, technology, engineering,
arts and/or mathematics. For the 2020-21 school year, two $2,500
grants were awarded to Perry High School in Perry and L.K. Moss
Elementary School in Buena Vista.
" Flint Energies supports education through the Full
S.T.E.A.M. Ahead program by providing much-needed funds to
educators and schools, " said Blair Brown, cooperative communications
specialist. " We believe in the importance of introducing
S.T.E.A.M.-based projects and activities to children of all ages,
with hopes of encouraging their interests and creating career goals. "
At L.K. Moss Elementary, the funds will be used for a project called
Perry High School's theater students will incorporate their grantfunded
Backpack Monsters into entertaining, educational videos.
the STEAMed Up About Literacy Library. The library will use literacy
picture books to build students' reading skills, computational thinking and
problem-solving abilities. Each 13-week unit will incorporate several books,
and the project will engage students in all grade levels.
Perry High School's grant will be used to implement the Backpack
Monsters program, which brings the charm of puppets into classrooms.
The introduction of puppets into fun, instructional videos delights students
and encourages retention of the information presented.
Teachers from subjects such as science, English, math, history and
fine arts will work directly with theater students to develop an idea, and
the students will write scripts, design and create the
puppets, and film the episode.
The two projects were chosen from 17 applications,
which were reviewed and judged by a panel
of retired educators and community S.T.E.A.M.
professionals in March. The top-scoring project
ideas were funded. All grant money for this program
comes from unclaimed capital credits designated for
educational programs.
Applications for the 2021-22 Full S.T.E.A.M.
Ahead grants will be available in February.
Electrical-safety
training: not just for kids
R
Jeff erson Energy Cooperative safety coordinators
conduct a high-voltage safety demonstration at the
Dellwood Volunteer Fire Department.
14
Georgia Magazine December 2021
epresentatives of Georgia's electric membership cooperatives often
visit schools and youth organizations to teach youngsters about
power lines and electrical safety. But sometimes adults need a bit of
training, too.
The safety team from Jefferson Energy Cooperative in Wrens visited
the Dellwood Volunteer Fire Department in June to conduct a high-voltage
demonstration. The department had requested the training to refresh them
on the do's and don'ts when it comes to downed power lines, electrical
wires and other safety concerns.
Glenn Cunningham, safety compliance coordinator at Diverse Power
in LaGrange, conducted similar training at the beginning of July for about
50 first responders. The course, titled " First in Line: First Responder Safety, "
aims to teach them how to make safe, smart decisions regarding incidents
involving electricity.
COURTESY JEFFERSON ENERGY COOPERATIVE
FLINT ENERGIES
Georgia Magazine - December 2021

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