Bright Ideas Grants Awarded to Local Educators by Blue Ridge Electric (Alleghany)
Contact: Renee Whitener, Director of Public Relations, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, (828) 758-2383, Ext. 3213; or E-mail: Renee Whitener
Sparta, North Carolina (November 14, 2008) – Grants totaling more than $2,200 were awarded to five educator teams today by Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation during a luncheon ceremony at the Ship’s Wheel Restaurant to honor local Bright Ideas grant recipients.
Bright Ideas is an academic grants program sponsored by Blue Ridge Electric in conjunction with the North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation and its 26 other member electric cooperatives. Bright Ideas grants help further traditional academic learning by funding innovative scholastic projects that go beyond available school funding.
Alleghany County grant winners are:
Chad Evans, of Alleghany High School, for “iPAS Music Practice and Assessment Software.” This grant of $862 will benefit 40 students who will play music from the method book into a microphone connected to a computer with the iPAS software, which will give instant feedback. The program will then e-mail the instructor with the information.
Lillis Ward, Lucas Pasley, Linda Miller, Rhonda Griffith, Melissa Vestal, and BJ Edwards, of Alleghany High School, for “Flip Out Over Video” to benefit 475 students. This grant of $640 will enable students and teachers to video, edit, and produce videos to be used in individual or group projects, presentations, and web sites. Flip video camcorders will be checked out from the media center for use.
Cecelia Hampton, Kathi Vaughn, and Heather Cole, of Sparta Elementary School, for “The Worms Return—Annelida on Stage” to benefit 75 students. This grant of $750 will benefit students in fourth grade expand the recycling projects started as a result of a 2004 Bright Ideas grant. They will continue using red wriggler worms to recycle cafeteria waste. They will also create worm puppets and write and perform informational skits to share.
Blue Ridge Electric is awarding Bright Ideas grants totaling $18,029 to 19 different academic projects that will benefit thousands of area students, teachers, schools and communities. The cooperative is celebrating 15 years of offering Bright Ideas grants as part of its support and commitment to local education. To date, Blue Ridge Electric has awarded more than $268,000 that has improved the educational experience for more than 75,000 students. North Carolina electric cooperatives joining together have awarded more than $4 million in Bright Ideas grants to benefit students all across the state.
To learn more about the Bright Ideas grants program, visit Blue Ridge Electric’s web site at www.BlueRidgeEMC.com or contact your local Blue Ridge Electric office.
