Grandma's Gifts is an incorporated,

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

organization started by Emily Elizabeth Douglas in 1993 at age 11, in memory of her grandmother. The organization provides goods and services to impoverished children and their families while focusing on

Appalachia Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...

n areas of the United States. Since its inception, Grandma's Gifts has raised over

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

12 million worth of goods and services while never paying its volunteers.

History

Norma Ackison

Norma Ackison, Emily Douglas's grandmother, was the last of twelve children to be born before her father died, leaving her mother to raise twelve children on her own during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. Norma grew up in and around

poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

until she married her husband Odell Ackison with whom she started a profitable business. Remembering the difficulties of being impoverished, she gave back to her community whenever she could while teaching her children and grandchildren the importance of giving. In 1989, Norma was diagnosed with breast and lung cancer. After she died in 1991, a then 9-year-old Emily Douglas started driving in her grandmother's name. After two years, an organization formed and was named Grandma's Gifts in honor of Norma Ackison.

Development

Grandma's Gifts was started after a series of projects. In 1993, the group of projects prompted the start of a named organization which was when the name was chosen. In 2002, the organization began operating as a donor advise fund through The Columbus Foundation. In 2008, Grandma's Gifts became incorporation In 2010 the organization's non-profit status as a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

organization was finalized.

Contributions

Since its inception, Grandma's Gifts has raised and distributed over 12.5 million dollars worth of goods and services to children and their families. The goods and services are distributed by named projects organized by Grandma's Gifts or are donated directly to other non-profit organizations.

Projects

Grandma's Gifts has many projects. The projects include: *Valentines for Veterans - A project where elementary, middle, and high school students create Valentine's Day cards for

veterans A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in an job, occupation or Craft, field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in the military, armed forces. A topic o ...

. Grandma's Gifts distributes the cards to veterans in

Chillicothe, Ohio Chillicothe ( ) is a city in Ross County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 22,059 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Scioto River 45 miles (72 km) south of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, ...

and

Huntington, West Virginia Huntington is a city in Cabell County, West Virginia, Cabell and Wayne County, West Virginia, Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The County seat, seat of Cabell County, the city is located at the confluence of the Ohio River, O ...

. *Christmas Angel Program - Grandma's Gifts collects and distributes toys, books, and winter apparel to children and their families in their target region. *Trick-or-Teeth - As Appalachia has the greatest oral health problems per capita in the US, Grandma's Gifts works with middle school, high school, and college students to collect and distribute dental hygiene products and educational material to children and their families through county and city health departments in Appalachia. *Thanksgiving Turkey Sculpture - Grandma's Gifts collects and distributes frozen turkeys and non-perishable foods to families in need on Thanksgiving. Emily started this project by making a large turkey sculpture out of canned food donated at her elementary school. *Book Drive - Grandma's Gifts collects and distributes books to children through schools, hospitals, battered family shelters, welfare agencies, and libraries. Since its inception, Grandma's Gifts has donated over 650,000 books to children in Appalachia. *Rainbow Project - Grandma's Gifts collects and distributes school supplies to schools and children in Appalachian areas devastates by storms.

Monetary contributions

Using monetary donations, Grandma's Gifts supplies children with educational experiences and donates directly to other non-profit organizations. Examples include: *Academy of Excellence Scholarship - The

Ohio University Southern Campus Ohio University Southern Campus is a satellite campus of Ohio University in Ironton, Ohio. The campus also has an extension in Proctorville, Ohio, and the Ohio Horse Park in Franklin Furnace, Ohio. The university began in 1956 when it hosted col ...

hosts a two-week-long educational summer camp for children. Grandma's Gifts grants scholarships to children whose family is unable to afford the camp. *COSI & Columbus Zoo - The organization uses monetary donations to connect students with the Columbus Center of Science and Industry, a science museum, and the

Columbus Zoo and Aquarium The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is a non-profit zoo located near Powell, Ohio, Powell in Liberty Township, Delaware County, Ohio, United States, north of the city of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus. The land lies along the eastern banks of the O'Shaughnes ...

by arranging field trips to

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

and on-site "COSI on Wheels" trips to Appalachian school districts.

Public speaking

Grandma's Gifts encourages students to do service for children their own age through public speaking. Emily Douglas speaks to students about her experiences with giving. She encourages the students to start their own projects by showing them easy way to do so and that she was only nine years old when she started her own projects.

Awards and recognitions

Since its inception, several awards have been given to Grandma's Gifts and to Emily Douglas on behalf of Grandma's Gifts. Additionally, Grandma's Gifts has been recognized from its accomplishments by notable organizations. Some of the more notable awards and recognitions include: *The

Siena Medal Theta Phi Alpha (), commonly known as Theta Phi, is a Fraternities and sororities in North America, women's fraternity founded at the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ann Arbor on August 30, 1912. The main archive URL iThe Baird's ...

from

Theta Phi Alpha Theta Phi Alpha (), commonly known as Theta Phi, is a women's fraternity founded at the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor on August 30, 1912. The main archive URL iThe Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage Theta Phi Alpha is one of 26 nation ...

fraternity *

American City Business Journals American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes ''The Business Journals'', which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States with each market ...

's Forty Under 40 award *

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's Sally Hanson Best of You finalist * L'Oreal Paris Women of Worth Finalist *

Hannity's America ''Hannity's America'' is a weekly American talk show on the Fox News Channel hosted by Sean Hannity. It was replaced in January 2009 with ''Hannity''. Overview At the beginning of each show, Hannity gives his opinion about the nation as a whole, ...

as the Hero of the Week,

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*Volvo For Life Awards, Semi-Finalist *International SERTOMA, Service to Mankind Award *American Profiles, Hometown Hero *

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

, Young Entrepreneur of the Year *Temple Award for Creative Altruism from the

Institute of Noetic Sciences The Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) is an American non-profit parapsychological research institute. It was co-founded in 1973 by former astronaut Edgar Mitchell, the sixth man to walk on the Moon, along with investor Paul N. Temple and ...

* Seventeen Magazine Community Service Grand Prize Winner * Family Circle Magazine, Halo Award *Selected as a Giraffe by the

Giraffe Heroes Project The Giraffe Heroes Project is an international non-profit organization that honors "people who have the courage to stick their necks out for the common good." History The Giraffe Heroes Project was set up in the early 1980s by Ann Medlock, a w ...

, as a person who all sticks their neck out for the common good *The

American Institute for Public Service The Jefferson Awards Foundation was created in 1972 by the American Institute for Public Service. The Jefferson Awards are given at both local and national levels. Local winners are ordinary people who do extraordinary things without expectatio ...

Jefferson Award The Jefferson Awards Foundation was created in 1972 by the American Institute for Public Service. The Jefferson Awards are given at both local and national levels. Local winners are ordinary people who do extraordinary things without expectatio ...

* The Hitachi Foundation's, Yoshiyama Award for Exemplary Service to the Community *Selected as a Paramount/

UPN Network The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American terrestrial television, broadcast television network that operated from 1995 to 2006. It was originally a joint venture between Chris-Craft Industries (later sold to News Corporation)'s subsidi ...

Millennium Mentor *Recipient of the

Steak Escape Steak Escape is a restaurant chain based in Columbus, Ohio, United States. Locations are typically found in food courts in shopping malls as well as airports, all serving a variety of menu items, including cheesesteaks. The company is known as ...

Curious Kid Grant *

National Child Labor Committee The National Child Labor Committee (NCLC) was a private, non-profit organization in the United States that served as a leading proponent for the national child labor reform movement. Its mission was to promote "the rights, awareness, dignity, well ...

, Lewis Hine Award * President's Service Award, The highest non-military award given to a US citizen for public service *The Caring Institute, National Youth Caring Award *Volunteer Ohio, Outstanding Youth Volunteer of the Year Award *

Freedoms Foundation Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge (now Founding Forward) is an American non-profit, non-partisan, non-sectarian educational organization, founded in 1949. The foundation is located adjacent to the Valley Forge National Historical Park, near Val ...

, George Washington Honor Medal *Appeared on

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Oprah Winfrey. The show ran for twenty-five seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in which it broadcast 4,561 episodes. The show was taped i ...

as one of Oprah's Angels, in recognition of Grandma's Gifts * Prudential Spirit of Community Award, National Award Winner

References

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External links

GrandmasGifts.org
- Grandma's Gifts Official Website Society of Appalachia Charities based in Ohio Social welfare charities based in the United States Organizations established in 1993 Children's charities based in the United States