When both her children were diagnosed with a form of muscular dystrophy, Robinette saw the importance of helping the disabled fulfill their desire of being as independent as possible and the Wishes 4 Me Foundation was born.
Starting with one home, Wishes 4 Me has now grown to seven. These homes are renovated and adapted to meet of residents. Caregivers round out the assistance.
These homes have allowed residents to transition out of nursing and personal care homes to be more independent. “We work with families to create a network around the resident,” says Robinette. “Some of our residents have no family. Their parents are either deceased or too elderly to care for them anymore.”
Besides helping with everyday functions, Wishes 4 Me also enhances the residents’ lives by providing a myriad of activities including karaoke, bowling, participation in the Special Olympics, bocce ball, beach outings and trips to the movie theatre.
“We greatly appreciate everything Walton EMC has done for us,” says Robinette. “We hope they can see the benefits and be as blessed as we are by receiving this $6,340 grant.”
Other organizations and individuals receiving part of the recent $220,670.58 allocation include:
-Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (entire WEMC area) – $3,000
Travel assistance for cancer patients.
-Penfield Christian Homes (entire WEMC area) – $10,000Treatment for substance abuse.
-Extra Special People (entire WEMC area) – $7,500Tuition help for program services.
-Interfaith Hospitality Network (entire WEMC area) – $8,000Services for .
-Georgia Transplant Foundation (entire WEMC area) – $10,000Financial assistance and education for transplant patients.
-Rachel’s Gift (entire WEMC area) – $2,000Expanding assistance to parents who lose infants.
-Eight families (entire WEMC area) – $33,061.81Emergency needs.
-American Red Cross, Friends of Disabled Adults and Children, Food Bank of Northeast Georgia, Judy House Ministries, Lawrenceville Cooperative Ministry, Place of Seven Springs (entire service area) – $75,000Organizations that provide emergency shelter, food medical care.
-New Path 1010 (Barrow) – $2,000Weekend meals for needy students.
-Classic City Lions Club (Barrow, Clarke) – $1,429Vision screening for children.
-Prevent Child Abuse Athens (Barrow, Clarke, Oconee, Walton) – $2,000Parent education, support and nurturing program.
-Northeast Georgia RESA (Barrow, Clarke, Greene, Morgan, Oconee, Walton) – $2,699.77Laptops for deaf/hard of hearing services.
-Books for Keeps (Clarke) – $5,000Books to low-income elementary students during the summer.
-YMCA (Clarke, Greene, Oconee, Walton) – $10,000
Snacks for children in afterschool programs.
-C2IT Equine Therapy (DeKalb, Gwinnett, Morgan, Rockdale, Walton) – $7,500Therapy for special needs clients.
-Gwinnett County Masonic Association (Gwinnett) – $4,000Christmas meal and gift cards for needy families.
-NG3 (Gwinnett, Walton) – $10,000Expanding their high school athlete mentoring program.
-Monroe Art Guild (Newton, Oconee, Rockdale, Walton) – $8,000Art kits for children at trauma scenes.
-Oconee County 4-H (Oconee) – $8,140Cloverleaf, Junior and Senior project achievement
-Walton County Helping Hands Club (Walton) – $5,000Christmas gifts for needy children.
Walton EMC is a customer-owned power company that serves 130,000 accounts over its 10-county service area between Atlanta and Athens. Its primary focus is providing exceptional service to 130,000 residential, commercial and industrial customer-owners while also caring for the area’s communities.
