POWERGRAMS

Despite the adversity and misfortune, Assistant Principal Karen Davis sees strength, resilience and passion in her students. "Our students have seen tragedy on every front — from physical buildings to human lives," Davis said. "One student, a seventh-grader, lost his mother in the tornado. She was lying under a pile of rubble. Yet, he walks around every day with good manners and a good attitude. You would never be able to look at him and know his private struggles." Western Division APSO members donated 4,000 pieces of notebook paper; 622 pens and pencils; 50 markers and highlighters; 36 binders; and 15 spiral notebooks. ………... For a first-time project, the Eastern Division Alabama Power Service Organization hit a home run with more than 1,000 students turning out for the Touch-A-Truck event in Oxford. Fifteen industrial, utility, emergency and recreational vehicles were on display at the Anniston Municipal Airport. Oxford City School children from prekindergarten through second grade investigated, climbed on and asked questions about the trucks. APSO sponsored the event in partnership with the Oxford Educational Foundation. "As a teacher, I'm always looking for real-world examples to share with my students," said Kimberly Harris, a second-grade teacher at Oxford Elementary. "This event has helped them better understand what these vehicles are used for. They haven't stopped talking about them yet." ……….. Fifteen first-year teachers in Alabama schools received $1,000 grants from the Alabama Power Foundation for classroom materials and supplies. Grant candidates were submitted by the state's public teacher colleges. Recipients were selected by a committee of representatives from those colleges. Each grant recipient graduated from a state-approved teacher program at an Alabama public four-year college or university. MAY The Birmingham Barons made some nifty catches during an opening night 5-4 win against the Tennessee Smokies, thanks to nifty technology employed by Alabama Power. Otherwise, opening night festivities would have struck out. The combination of some previous routine maintenance work and a cable failure caused a switch to burn up during the game, locking out the breaker feeding the stadium. But what is called the "Birmingham Baseball Scheme" stepped to the plate. The Birmingham Baseball Scheme is part of Alabama Power's "Self-healing Network" deployed in 2013. ……….. Eddie Leroy is like a modern-day Michelangelo. But while the 16th century artist spent four years atop scaffolding painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Leroy is on his feet outdoors from sunup to sundown creating Dothan's latest mural with the help of APSO. The Southeast Division/Farley Chapter has adopted the wildlife mural and will contribute $6,000 — $2,000 annually for three years — to help cover maintenance and repairs. The donation will help pay for brochures and educational tools that will support the mural project. The Southeast Division/Farley Chapter is sponsoring the project as part of the Wiregrass Adopt-A-Mural campaign. Murals of the Wiregrass is encouraging businesses to adopt murals throughout the city. The group was founded in 1992 to help revitalize the city, increase tourism and provide an educational tool for students. ……….. The Alabama Power Foundation awarded Sawyerville Day Camp a $40,000 grant to continue its efforts with the Yellowhammer Learning Program (YLP). Launched in summer 2014, YLP is a free, multiweek intensive summer learning program for rising fifth- and sixth-graders. Operated out of Greensboro, YLP aims to eliminate summer learning loss by focusing on core subjects such as reading, math, science and writing. JUNE It was an early Christmas for the Salvation Army's Angel Tree program, thanks to APSO. More than $28,000 was raised at the 14th annual APSO Charity Sporting Clay Shoot at Selwood Farms in Alpine. APSO used the money to buy Christmas presents in November for needy children. Since the event started in 2002, APSO has raised $374,000 for more than 4,000 children. ……….. For Ra'Shuna Jackson, owning a home seemed out of reach. But the impossible became possible for the young mother, with the help of Magic City APSO volunteers. Magic City built Jackson's home in Calera, in partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Birmingham. It's the 23rd Habitat home constructed by Magic City volunteers since 1998. "When I moved out of my parents' house, I saw how expensive an apartment was and wanted something better for me and my daughter," said Jackson, a loan processor at Compass 3 More than 1,000 students visited Touch-A-Truck. Regions Park part of the Self-healing Network.

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