The Development Authority of Dawson County has donated $50,000 to support the Dawson County Adult Learning Center.
“The authority is very pleased to be able to provide our share to the project,” said Charlie Auvermann, executive director.
The center, which opened in June, is part of the Lanier Technical College complex in downtown Dawsonville. Lanier Tech, the Dawson County school system and the city and county governments worked together to build it.
“We are very grateful for the community and what they have given,” said Kathy Davis, lead instructor at the Adult Learning Center. “With budget cuts and the condition of the economy, Dawson County has still been very supportive and we have not felt the effects of the economy like some others have.”
The authority’s donation represents the final part of the community’s 20 percent share of funding for the facility.
The other 80 percent came from a $500,000 Georgia Community Development Block Program grant the county received in September 2006.
“These grants are pretty difficult to get,” said Kevin Tanner, county manager. “One of the main reasons we got it is because there were so many partners of the community involved, and also because of the nature of the project.”
The learning center provides literacy assistance to high school dropouts and works with youth development, mentoring and many other services.
“In the past the adult literacy center operated out of an older house that the school system owned,” Tanner said. “They were running out of room, so the community came together and wrote a grant to receive funds for a new building.”
According to Auvermann, the development block program is a state program operated through the Department of Community Affairs. Grants are awarded on necessity and community involvement.
“This project has been a clear example of cooperation between a number of organizations that have been focused on a common goal,” he said.
The authority’s donation came from long-term project revenue sources not county taxpayers, Auvermann said.
Tanner commended the learning center for its work.
“They’ve (Lanier Technical College) done a tremendous job with the GED program,” he said. “They have a good program, they just needed a nicer and larger facility.”
E-mail Elizabeth Hamilton at elizabeth@dawsonnews.com.