TEP Awards $250,000 in Grants for Environment, Education, Assistance Programs
TUCSON, Ariz.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Tucson Electric Power (TEP) awarded $250,000 in grants today to help 12
local nonprofit groups improve education, protect our environment and
provide community assistance.
TEP’s Community Impact Grants will fund home repairs for 175
limited-income families, develop new solar energy resources, expand
opportunities for thousands of underserved students and provide other
critical services to local residents.
“We’re excited about these new opportunities to create a positive impact
in our community,” said David G. Hutchens, TEP’s President and CEO. “TEP
is committed to improving our customers’ quality of life, and our grants
are an important part of a philanthropic program that provides nearly
$1.5 million each year to support local charities.”
TEP’s Community Impact Grants greatly expand the resources
previously provided through TEP’s Grants that Make a Difference program,
which awarded $101,000 last year in amounts up to $10,000. Five of this
year’s grants exceeded that level, including a single grant of $75,000.
The 2016 TEP Community Impact Grants include:
Community Assistance.
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$75,000 to Community Home Repair Projects of Arizona (CHRPA) for
repairs of approximately 175 limited-income households through the
Safe at Home Coalition. CHRPA will work with the American Red Cross of
Southern Arizona, Habitat for Humanity and the Pima Council on Aging
to identify seniors whose homes are in need of smoke detectors and
basic interior repairs required for safe, healthy and energy-efficient
independent living. Funds will also be used to make cosmetic and
accessibility improvements outside seniors’ homes. -
$30,000 to Our Family Services, Inc. to provide temporary housing,
food, clothing, furnishings and household goods to hundreds of
homeless families and children through the organization’s New
Beginnings Shelter & Housing Programs. -
$17,650 to the Sahuarita Food Bank and Good Shepherd United Church of
Christ for expansion of its backpack food program, which will feed an
additional 85 children from limited-income families during the school
year. -
$10,000 to Casa de los Niños Crisis Shelter Program, which will offer
an additional 220-230 nights of respite care to families facing
personal crises, poverty, homelessness, job loss, domestic violence or
other unsafe conditions at home. -
$5,000 to Handi-Dogs, Inc. for its Rescue to Service Dog Program,
which identifies dogs that need homes but demonstrate the potential to
provide service or therapy for people with disabilities. -
$5,000 to Southern Arizona Children’s Advocacy Center to upgrade
cameras, computers and other equipment used to diagnose and document
medical conditions of abused and neglected children.
Education
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$20,000 to the City Center for Collaborative Learning’s CommunityShare
program, which matches teachers and students with community members
who offer real-world learning experiences. Funds will help pay for
staffing to boost outreach and increase use of a new online platform. -
$10,000 to the Act One Field Trip Program so that approximately 800
students from underserved schools can visit local performing arts
productions. Funds will be used to pay for tickets, transportation,
books and other educational materials. -
$10,000 to JobPath, Inc. for its Ensure Success program, which will
provide financial support to unemployed or underemployed Pima County
residents enrolled in college-level education and job-training
programs. -
$10,000 to the YMCA of Southern Arizona so that dozens of children at
multiple Tucson-area locations can participate in the Summer Learning
Loss Prevention Program, which provides literacy activities, organized
play and nutrition classes for six weeks during the summer. -
$7,000 to Sonoran Art Foundation, Inc. for its Youth Education
Program, which will provide glass art training to approximately 600
underserved youth. Funds will be used to purchase glass and other
materials and to pay for kiln operation.
Environmental Protection and Sustainability
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$50,350 to the Reid Park Zoological Society to help fund a solar
photovoltaic system for a new animal veterinary center. Technicians
for Sustainability, a local solar contractor, will install 63 solar
modules that help power the new, energy-efficient facility.
TEP employee volunteers and other stakeholders selected this year’s Community
Impact Grant recipients through a competitive process that attracted
nearly 200 applications. Winners were chosen based on program
effectiveness and sustainability, applicants’ organizational
capabilities and other criteria.
TEP Community Impact Grants are available to organizations in
TEP’s service territory and in eastern Arizona communities near TEP’s
Springerville Generating Station. TEP Community Impact Grants,
like other community investments, are funded from corporate resources,
not customers’ rates.
TEP’s award-winning community service efforts include direct
contributions, in-kind services and volunteer support for local
nonprofit groups. In 2015, TEP and sister company UniSource Energy
Services contributed nearly $2 million to charitable causes. Company
employees also joined their friends and family in contributing 25,000
volunteer hours to hundreds of nonprofit groups.
TEP provides safe, reliable electric service to approximately 417,000
customers in southern Arizona. To learn more, visit tep.com.
TEP, UES and their parent company, UNS Energy, are subsidiaries of
Fortis Inc., which owns utilities that serve more than 3 million
customers across Canada and in the United States and the Caribbean. To
learn more, visit fortisinc.com.
Contacts
Tucson Electric Power
Joseph Barrios, 520-884-3725
jbarrios@tep.com