Southern Magnolia Charities Awards Grants To Nonprofits

MILTON, GA — Three nonprofit organizations based in Alpharetta and Milton have been awarded financial grants from the newly created Southern Magnolia Charities, which was established this year to serve North Georgia residents through fundraising events and donations, grants and supporting groups that contribute to the health and safety of communities.

Organizations receiving awards include the Dream Weavers of Georgia, Milton First Responders Foundation and Canine Assistants. These organization will receive proceeds from the 2018 Milton Tour of Homes.

Dream Weavers of Georgia, based in Alpharetta, is a non-profit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of foster children. Its goal is to create opportunities and provide resources that promote educational, emotional and social well-being of the children in the foster system. The grant will support their general awards program, which provides children with access to activities and opportunities that enrich their childhood experience.

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The Milton First Responders Foundation works to strengthen the partnership between the citizens and police and firefighters by providing emergency resources to those who make the city of Milton a safe place to live, work and visit. The grant will be used to increase the Foundation’s endowment to ensure adequate funds in the event of a tragedy affecting a first responder.

Canine Assistants works to "educate people and dogs so they may enhance the lives of one another," that group said on its website. They specialize in placing service dogs with people who have difficulty with mobility, epilepsy or have been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. They also place dogs in pediatric and adult medical facilities. From the organization’s education center in Milton, dogs are placed throughout the United States. The grant will help fund future service dogs which are provided free of charge to recipients.

One of Southern Magnolia's primary fundraisers is the annual Milton Tour of Homes, which began in 2016 and is now under the leadership of Southern Magnolia Charities. It also welcomes donations from individuals, companies and organizations.

"We are blessed to have so many wonderful and effective charitable organizations in our area," Southern Magnolia Charities President Marsha Spear said. "They enhance the lives of all our citizens through their dedication and commitment. We are proud to recognize three of these charities in our inaugural round of support."

Photo: Seated, left to right, are: Marsha Spear (President, Southern Magnolia Charities), Darlene Perales (Canine Assistants) with Merry, Greg Carter (Milton First Responder), Fred Moeller (Dream Weavers of Georgia) and Donna Savas (Southern Magnolia Charities and chair of the 2018 Milton Tour of Homes). Standing, left to right, are: Abbe Laboda (Southern Magnolia Charities), Bob Meyers (Southern Magnolia Charities), Bartholomew Ritchie (Milton First Responder), Cody Hall (Milton First Responder), Lara Dolan (Southern Magnolia Charities) and Betsy Lowery (Southern Magnolia Charities). Board members not pictured include: Judy Burds, Kim Gauger, Kim Hirsch, Sally Kolb-Rich and Kevin Spear. Credit: Southern Magnolia Charities