ATLANTA — Three South Georgia organizations were among dozens of groups that received state funding Monday to help recover from economic harms caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gov. Brian Kemp, in making the announcement, said, “We remained focused on protecting lives and livelihoods throughout the pandemic and our approach gave us a leg up in the Great Recovery. … I’m proud of our state’s resilience, and as of today, we have worked hard and identified ways to further deliver assistance to hard-working Georgians, support businesses and speed up the recovery of impacted industries and rebuild crucial public services.”

Altogether, about $415 million in grants were announced.

Among the groups receiving funding are:

— The Cook County Family Connection, which received $100,000 to “address health, economic, educational needs of community members.”

— The Greater Valdosta United Way, which got $35,000 for the Southside Community Resiliency and Recovery Project.

— The Valdosta-Lowndes County Convention Center and Tourism Authority, which received $415,000 to address the negative economic impact on the tourism industry.

Funding for the awards comes from the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds program, a part of the American Rescue Plan Act.  

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.