MACON, Ga. — Rebuilding Macon is just one of 32 nonprofits to receive grant funding from the Community Foundation of Central Georgia. Executive director Debra Rollins says they received a total of $25,000.
Over the years, we've heard from people across Macon who got repairs on their homes and the volunteers who helped make it possible.
Now, the work can continue thanks to a grant from the Community Foundation of Central Georgia, a charity that gave out $600,000 of grant money to nonprofits in the area.
Rollins says the board got the check on Monday, and they know what to do with it.
"Immediately, it's going to wheelchair ramps, we've also got some roofs that really need to be repaired, so this will mainly go to the nuts and bolts, getting the materials to the job sites," she says.
Rollins says the COVID-19 pandemic caused them to lose some manpower.
"At the beginning of 2020, we were planning on 1,500 to 2,000, but we're gonna have about one-third of what we had in 2021," says Rollins.
Along with loss of volunteers, Rollins says they've also seen a spike in prices for building materials during the pandemic.
"The wheelchair ramp we were building last March for $675 now costs about $1,600," she says.
Rollins says the organization dipped in donations this year, but the $25,000 makes up for it and will help them continue their mission.
"We're 29 years strong, next year's gonna be number 30. We're real proud of the work our volunteers have done over the last 30 years," says Rollins.
Rollins says so far, they have about 200 projects that have already been inspected, and are expected to be worked on over the next few months.
The Mentors Project, Genesis Joy House Homeless Shelter, and the Macon Arts Alliance are some of the other non-profits that also received funding.