LEADS Grant Recipient Winners

Leaders Credit Union, member-owned financial cooperative based in Jackson, Tenn., is pleased to award ten West Tennessee educators with the L.E.A.D.S. Educator Grant. This program awards ten $1,000 grants to area educators whose initiatives empower students to Learn, Experience, Advocate, Dream, and Serve.

“The L.E.A.D.S. Educator Grant embodies who we are as an organization because we are here to serve, advocate and educate our members and allow them to dream of a new future,” said Todd Swims, President and CEO of Leaders Credit Union. “We were started by Jackson educators, so we are honored to be able to give back to those educators in a meaningful, intentional way.”

Dr. Eric Jones, Jackson-Madison County Schools; Kyle Spurgeon, Jackson Chamber; and Jarred Myracle, Jackson-Madison County Schools

Grant proposals range from funds for an outdoor classroom, improvements to a special education classroom, lab equipment, a volunteer basketball program, to funds to visit the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. Grant submissions included a short video explaining the need and use of the grant money. Twenty-three proposals were submitted, and the top ten winners were chosen by the community via social media voting. L.E.A.D.S. Grant submissions videos were viewed over 82,000 times during the voting period. Winners include:

• Colette Carrabba, Chester County Junior High School
• Renee Nelson, Milan Middle School
• Barbara Orr, Hillcrest Elementary
• Charlene Wooldridge, Fayette Ware Comprehensive High School
• Angie Conley & Julia Adams, Crockett County Middle School
• Joy Heath, Appling Middle and Elmore Park Middle Schools
• Paige Melville, Trenton Elementary School
• Veronica Shelton, Decatur County Middle School
• Vanesa Dawkins, Nova Early Learning Center
• Callie Dollar, Community Montessori School

In addition to the ten, $1,000 grants awarded, Leaders is also honored to award $1,000 towards graphing calculators for the classroom of Mr. Jeffrey Lewis, who passed away in August of this year. Lewis submitted his L.E.A.D.S. grant proposal for graphing calculators for his Chester County High School students before he passed away.

“We’ve been amazed with each grant submission we received,” Swims said. “Success is in the power of people helping people, and we plan to continue to lead the way.”

About Leaders Credit Union

Leaders Credit Union is a member-owned financial cooperative headquartered in Jackson, Tenn. Leaders was established in 1957 by five Jackson educators and has grown to over 49,000 members and eight branches across West Tenn. As one of the largest and most stable credit unions in the nation, Leaders exists to serve the needs of its members and lead the way on their behalf. Leaders was awarded the 2015 - 2017 Best Place to Bank by Jackson Sun’s Readers’ Choice and was placed in the top 1% of credit unions nationwide by depositaccounts.com. Leaders is an Equal Housing Lender and is federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration. For more information about Leaders Credit Union, visit its website.