DEMOPOLIS, Ala. - Aug. 16, 2007 - Whether it’s a microscope-mounted camera or a butterfly cocoon experiment, grants provided by the Alabama Power Foundation, totaling more than $100,000 the past 14 years, have helped the Demopolis City School Foundation (DCSF) buy classroom extras for teachers.

The latest gift from the Alabama Power Foundation is $1,500 to help provide classroom supplies and educational enrichments to Demopolis public school teachers.

“The $1,500 the Alabama Power Foundation has given us this year – and its generosity from past years – has made it possible for our foundation to help educators reach and teach their children,” said Jan McDonald, DCSF executive director. “It has had a tremendous impact on Demopolis classrooms. The results show in our reputation among other schools in the state of Alabama.”

Each year, teachers in the two elementary schools, one middle school and one high school in the 2,500-student Demopolis city system apply for grants from the DCSF. The grant requests, ranging from less than $100 to several thousand dollars, must be for extra needs in the classroom not funded through traditional means – things such as maps, books, lab supplies, computer software and most anything other than textbooks and bricks-and-mortar projects.

A DCSF grant committee – a teacher from each campus, the superintendent of education and an educator from outside the system – sifts through the requests and awards grants, which will total $55,000 for 2007-2008.

“It’s a painful process to go through,” McDonald said. Once decisions are rendered, “We take a giant check and balloons and visit each recipient. We let them know they received a grant,” she said, laughing.

The microscope-mounted camera allowed a biology teacher to project to students what they should be looking for in their microscopes. The butterfly experiment was requested so elementary students could watch cocoons hatch.

“Helping education improves the quality of life in Demopolis, and that’s what the Alabama Power Foundation is all about,” said Ronnie Snelgrove, manager of Alabama Power’s Demopolis Office.

McDonald noted how vital the Alabama Power Foundation has been to the DCSF, providing $2,000 for seed money to the organization in 1993.

“Without that initial $2,000, I’m not sure we would have gotten started,” McDonald said.

More information on the DCSF is at www.demopolis.org.

The Alabama Power Foundation works to improve the quality of life of Alabamians and strengthen the communities in which they live. Since 1990, the foundation has provided more than $100 million in grants to worthy projects across Alabama. Details about the foundation are available at www.alabamapowerfoundation.com.

Alabama Power, a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO), provides reliable, affordable electricity to more than 1.4 million customers across the state. Learn more about Alabama Power at www.alabamapower.com.

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Media Contact: Keisa Sharpe, Alabama Power Corporate Communications, 205.257.4155, ksharpe@southernco.com.