Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic School Receives Matching Grant

Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic School (IHM) is a non-profit school headed by Principal Tricia DeWitt.  The school opened its doors in August 1958. IHM serves 498 students (378 families) from 31 different parishes throughout the Metro Atlanta area with classes from kindergarten to eighth grade. Its students come from diverse backgrounds, 18 percent are non-Catholic, and 17 percent of students receive financial aid.  As part of IHM’s teaching programs, students are introduced to environmental stewardship and creation care in the classroom. 

The school added a new building in 1969 that included additional classrooms, a library and a gym. In 1971, IHM School became fully accredited with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.  With all of the growth associated with the school’s success, buildings have been reconfigured to create classrooms, office space, and computer and science laboratories.  Reconfiguring the heating and air conditioning system has not kept up with these changes.

As a result, IHM is planning a major multi-year renovation of its HVAC system to be completed in phases using their general reserve funds. The $5,250 matching grant received from GIPL will be used to upgrade their boiler, thereby increasing operating efficiency by an estimated 40 percent and reducing utility costs.

IHM was one of eight religious organizations that were awarded Energy Improvement Matching Grants in June 2010. The next round of matching grants applications must be received by November 15, 2010. The applications can be found on our website. Up to $25,000 is available to congregations interested in implementing suggestions from their Power Wise energy audits to reduce energy consumption and costs. Congregations must be able to show that they have their matching funds within six months of receiving the grant award, in addition to being a member of Power Wise and having had an energy audit of their facilities.