Halifax EMC awarded $8,211 in Bright Ideas education grants to six local teachers to fund creative, engaging projects for their students. More than 445 students at schools in Halifax and Warren counties will benefit from these grants. The grant funds go to support special classroom projects focusing on music, language arts, entrepreneurship, and nature.

This year’s local Bright Ideas grant winners:

• Cameron Callahan, Vaughan Elementary, Warren County, “Calm Classes”
• Alicia Wills, Littleton Academy, Halifax County, “Blue Jay Bubbly Bliss”
• Cherita Smith, Warren County Middle, Warren County, “Make a Joyful Noise!”
• Kelly Allen, Littleton Academy, Halifax County, “Being an Author Ignites My Spark”
• Richard Denmark Hamilton, Littleton Academy, Halifax County, “Get Lost in the Woods!”
• Chelsea Garner, Littleton Academy, Halifax County, “The Hive is Alive!”

Since the Bright Ideas grant program began in 1994, Halifax EMC has contributed more than $200,000 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 $15 million in Bright Ideas funding for over 14,200 projects supporting teachers and benefiting more than 3.5 million students.

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.