In the heart of Georgia, the city of Macon is known for many things. From historic architecture to cherry blossoms, to a plethora of music legends, the southern town has many shining characteristics. However, violence has also made its way into the city, and organizations are now stepping up to put an end to it in this community.

The Macon Violence Prevention Program is an initiative passed in June of 2022 by the Community Foundation of Central Georgia and Macon-Bibb County Mayor Lester Miller. The program is providing more than $800,000 to 25 charitable organizations in the Macon-Bibb area in an effort to prevent violent crime in the community.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Heart of Georgia was awarded $50,000 to invest in their program. The organization’s President and CEO, Betsy Fitzgerald, is in charge of handling the funding the organization receives and creating a plan for how it will be used.

“The funding that we receive from the violence prevention grant not only supports our quality programs, but it’s actually going to give us an opportunity to work with other small organizations,” Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald says that it is important that her organization uses its resources to continue to be a presence in Macon-Bibb. She does not want Big Brothers Big Sisters to be “one of the best-kept secrets of this community.”

“Knowing that we’re already an effective program, it’s not a matter of finding the kids, it’s how can we help this community has a greater impact, to be able to reach more people, to help curb the violence and improve the quality of life of everyone that lives in Macon-Bibb,” Fitzgerald said.

The Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring program was recognized by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as one of the nation’s most effective programs for curbing youth violence. Because of this, Fitzgerald says that funding will also go into finding more mentors for the program, and “recruiting people who are not going to let these kids down.”

For more information about Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Heart of Georgia, go to www.bbbsheartga.org/about-us-2/. To learn more about the Macon Violence Prevention program, go to www.cfcga.org/grant/mvp-program/.