CNS announces employee-directed community grants
More than $170,000 invested in local nonprofits across Texas Panhandle
AMARILLO- Nineteen nonprofits in the Texas Panhandle are better able to continue or expand their missions thanks to grants from Consolidated Nuclear Security’s (CNS) Pantex Community Investment Fund. The fund is administered by the Amarillo Area Foundation.
CNS, which manages the Pantex Plant for the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration, announced this week the recipients of charitable funds totaling more than $170,000.
“Pantex has always been committed to improving and supporting our surrounding communities. We are very proud to continue our employees’ legacy of giving by contributing to Panhandle area organizations through the CNS Community Investment Fund,” said Pantex Site Manager Todd Ailes.
The company announced the fund availability in January as part of its commitment to the Amarillo and surrounding areas. A Pantex Community Investment Advisory Committee comprised of CNS employees reviewed proposals from 88 area organizations. After their evaluation, the committee recommended grant awards to CNS management and the Amarillo Area Foundation.
The advisory committee selected grantee organizations based on the following funding preferences and priorities: basic needs, child and family development, community development, education, financial literacy, and health and wellness.
“Our goal was to give our employees more of a voice in determining where corporate dollars are invested in the community where they work, live, and volunteer,” said Jason Bohne, CNS Communications and Public Affairs director. “By working together with the Amarillo Area Foundation, we are confident that these grants and their recipients will have a positive impact in the Panhandle.”
A similar effort is taking place at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn., also managed and operated by CNS. Grant awards determined by a Y-12 employee advisory committee, in conjunction with CNS and the East Tennessee Foundation, will be announced May 4.
Organizations and the funds they will receive are as follows:
| Recipient Name | Grant | Purpose |
| Amarillo Area CASA | $3,000 | To provide direct support to relative kinship foster families receiving no state assistance. |
| Another Chance House | $10,000 | To supplement the food budget at Another Chance House. |
| Arrow Child & Family Ministries | $10,000 | To construct a Residential Treatment Facility to provide intensive therapy for Amarillo area abused and neglected youth. |
| Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Texas Panhandle | $10,000 | To support the salary for a new position charged with recruitment of Volunteer mentors to be matched with children on the waiting list. |
| Boys & Girls Club of Amarillo | $10,000 | To purchase Teaching Materials, Software, and Supplies for K-12 Technology program. |
| CCS Connect Community Services | $10,000 | To obtain a building to house operations. |
| Coalition of Health Services | $9,766.66 | To cover supplies, materials, outreach, and overhead costs for nutrition awareness with families. |
| Downtown Women's Center | $10,000 | To provide shelter for homeless women as they receive treatment for alcohol and drug addictions. |
| Eveline's Sunshine Cottage | $10,000 | To provide school clothing for single moms and children, healthy eating options, college books, computers, and fees. |
| High Plains Children's Home and Family Services | $10,000 | To provide a portion of the furnishings needed for the newly constructed Mabel Christy Transitional Living Cottage. |
| High Plains Food Bank | $10,000 | To improve existing gardens and start other gardens in the community. |
| Make-A-Wish® North Texas, Texas Plains Regional Office | $10,000 | To pay for expenses directly associated with granting the wishes of children in the Texas Panhandle. |
| Martha's Home | $10,000 | General support to provide a shelter and programs for homeless women and their children. |
| Meals On Wheels of Amarillo | $10,000 | To help seniors that cannot afford to pay $2.25 per meal Monday thru Friday for one year. |
| Opportunity School, Inc. | $10,000 | To strengthen parent education efforts and plant the seed of college and education achievement with students and families. |
| Presbyterian Home for Children | $10,000 | To support Caring for a Child Program in FY2016. |
| Ronald McDonald House Charities of Amarillo | $10,000 | To assist families with ill children whose financial resources have been exhausted with medical bills. |
| Sharing Hope Ministry | $2,680 | To purchase materials to enhance educational curricula and increase the impact of services to post offending women. |
| YMCA of Moore County | $5,000 | To hire a Summer Feeding Activity Director to enhance current summer program. |
Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC (CNS) operates the Pantex Plant, located in Amarillo, Texas, and the Y-12 National Security Complex, located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, under a single contract for the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration. Pantex and Y-12 are key facilities in the U.S. Nuclear Security Enterprise, and CNS performs its work with a focus on the performance excellence and the imperatives of safety, security, zero defects and delivery as promised.
For more information on each site, visit www.pantex.com or www.y12.doe.gov. Follow Pantex on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. Follow Y-12 on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr.
CONTACT:
Steve Myers
Public Affairs
Office (806) 477-6032
smyers@pantex.com