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From JASON GREEN

On Friday, Dec. 3, Aaron Ellison, owner of Ellison Memorial Funeral Home in Clanton, made a pair of donations to schools in the Chilton County School System.

Clanton Intermediate School and Verbena School each received $5,000 to be used specifically for enhanced sensory centers for special needs students in each of those locations. Ellison said these are the first of donations for each school in the system to develop rooms or areas for those students whom deal with developmental issues.

“These children are very special and have unique development needs the school system should be able to meet,” Ellison said. “I have a son that deals with autism, and I want to make sure there is a place for him that caters to his specific needs. These donations are in honor of him, but are focused on every student in the Chilton County School system with these unique set of needs. We want to help reach them where they are, as they are.”

Ellison indicated these and other donations are ways for his organization to help equip county schools with resources needed to provide this group of students with the tools necessary for them to grow and learn.

Ellison said the number of families trusting Ellison Memorial with the final arrangements for their loved ones is the reason such an investment is possible.

“The community has been so good to Ellison Memorial Funeral Home,” he added. “We’ve been here for more than 10 years now, and we’ve grown so much year to year. The community trusting us to serve it allows us to, in turn, invest back into the community. We intend to do absolutely as much as we can.”

Supporting local schools has always been a priority for Ellison Memorial. But Ellison said he believes this more significant investment is just the starting point of what he hopes will be a healthy, long-term partnership between his business and locals as the total investment is expected to be approximately $60,000. Each school in the system will receive donations scattered over the next few weeks and months. The funds will be directed to the appropriate institution by Michelle Coppedge, the special education coordinator for Chilton County Schools.