More than $8,000 awarded to local teachers through Bright Ideas Education Grant Program

Posted: January 13, 2023 at 11:32 am

Halifax EMC has awarded $8,193 in Bright Ideas education grants to six local teachers to fund creative, engaging projects for their students. More than 775 students at schools in Halifax and Warren counties will benefit from these grants. The grant funds go to support special classroom projects focusing on theatre, music, history and STEM.

This year’s local Bright Ideas grant winners are:
• Nichole Gibbs, Warren Middle School, “Light Up the Stage: In More Ways than One!”
• Ann Booterbaugh, Littleton Academy, “Keeping History Alive”
• Diane Colin, Vaughan Elementary, “Keep the Music Going”
• Chelsea Garner, Littleton Academy, “Telling the History of the First Year of Littleton Academy”
• Susan Whitley and Renee Mizelle, Littleton Academy, “Jump Start to STEM”
• Emily Keen, Littleton Academy, “Saving the Environment One Classroom at a Time”

Since the Bright Ideas grant program began in 1994, Halifax EMC has contributed more than $190,000 to local teachers. Grants are awarded for projects in all subject areas, such as music, art, history, reading, science, math and more. Bright Ideas grants support local teachers with creative ideas to increase innovation, expand learning opportunities and enhance student success in K–12 classrooms.

Halifax EMC is one of 26 electric cooperatives in North Carolina offering Bright Ideas grants to local teachers. Since 1994, North Carolina’s electric cooperatives collectively have awarded more than $14 million in Bright Ideas funding for over 13,500 projects supporting teachers and benefitting more than 2.5 million students.

The Bright Ideas grant program is part of Halifax EMC’s ongoing commitment to building a brighter future through the support of education.

Bright Ideas grant applications are accepted by Halifax EMC each year from April through mid-September, and winning proposals are selected in a competitive evaluation process by a panel of judges. The application process will reopen for interested teachers in April 2023.