CNS awards $140,000 in grants to community nonprofits

Consolidated Nuclear Security’s Community Investment Fund recently awarded 12 grants focusing on early learning and academic support, acute mental health, and pre‑ and post‑natal family services to area nonprofits.

Y‑12 employees have designated more than $1.5 million for organizations since fund’s inception

OAK RIDGE, Tenn — Twelve East Tennessee nonprofits recently received a total of $140,000 from the Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS) Community Investment Fund during a ceremony at Y‑12 National Security Complex.

In 2015, CNS worked with East Tennessee Foundation (ETF) to create an innovative and effective method for contributing to the community in a way that would engage Y‑12 employees. Since its inception, the fund has awarded more than 200 grants to more than 150 nonprofit organizations and educational institutions in 20 East Tennessee counties, totaling a combined $1.5 million in award money. Each year, a Y‑12 employee committee recommends the grant recipients.

“The Community Investment Fund is a partnership with CNS, East Tennessee Foundation, and our Y‑12 volunteer employee committee,” said Gene Sievers, CNS vice president of Production and Operations. “Each year, our volunteer committee selects focus areas that they are passionate about. Based on those priorities, East Tennessee Foundation requests proposals through its nonprofit distribution network.”

Todd Ailes, CNS chief operating officer, said, “Our group of employee volunteers did the hard work of deciding priorities and ultimately selecting which grants would be funded. ETF’s knowledge of the nonprofit community has allowed CNS to expand its community outreach to groups and places we might not otherwise reach, but who deserve our support.”

This year, the committee chose three focus areas: early learning and academic support, acute mental health, and pre‑ and post‑natal family services. The grant awards reflect this focus.

Recipients provide services to 20 counties

The services offered by the grant recipients reach 20 East Tennessee counties, with all of the grants covering multiple counties. This year’s recipients and their intended uses of the award money are as follows:

• Align 9: to pair trained high school mentors with elementary and middle school students to boost literacy and resilience among youth impacted by adverse childhood experiences.
• Boys and Girls Club of the Tennessee Valley: to support its Pre‑Kindergarten Learning Support Program, which combines multiple programs to support academic engagement in youth ages 3‑5.
• Centro Hispano: to support Juntos Aprendemos Mejor, a bilingual early‑learning program designed to increase kindergarten readiness and promote family bonding through culturally responsive, play‑based education.
• Childhelp Tennessee: to help expand services for children in rural, underserved communities, ensuring access to high‑quality mental health support.
• Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge: to fund Charlie’s Road Show: STEAM Enrichment for Young Learners, an outreach initiative delivering 75 educational programs in science, technology, engineering, art, and math, history, healthy living, gardening, and literacy for children ages 3‑7.
• Florence Crittenton Agency: to implement the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Recovery for Girls program, which serves adolescents (13‑18) in state custody who are struggling with serious, life‑threatening mental health and substance abuse problems as a result of childhood trauma.
• Friends of Literacy: to build home libraries for low‑income children in East Tennessee through distributing books, encouraging families to establish nightly reading routines, and empowering caregivers to be their child’s first teacher by providing easy‑to‑use literacy resources.
• Helen Ross McNabb Foundation: to support operations and access for Family Walk‑In and Comprehensive Family Treatment Center to provide immediate psychiatric crisis support to children, youth, and families.
• Helping Mamas Knoxville: to expand the Postpartum Support Kit program for low‑income mothers that provides essential items for maternal recovery and newborn care during the first weeks after childbirth.
• HOLA Lakeway: to expand the children’s program, HOLA 4 KIDS, and STREAM mobile classroom, which strengthens reading, writing, math, and cognitive skills through afterschool, summer, and mobile programming.
• Mental Health Association of East Tennessee: to support the Rural Treatment Access Bank, which offsets the needs for acute mental health crisis services by connecting people who could not otherwise access behavioral health care with therapy and peer support services.
• Scott County Shelter Society: to provide essential information, resources, and access to mental health support, family services, and academic support to survivors of domestic violence and their children.

Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC operates the Y-12 National Security Complex, located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, for the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration. Bechtel National, Inc. is the lead member of CNS; minority members include Leidos, Inc.; ATK Launch Systems, LLC; and SOC LLC. Y-12 is a key facility in the U.S. Nuclear Security Enterprise, and CNS performs its work with a focus on performance excellence and the imperatives of safety, security, zero defects, and delivery as promised.

For more information, visit www.y12.doe.gov. Follow Y-12 on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn.

CONTACT
Kathryn King, APR
Communications
Office (865) 315.5996
Kathryn.King@y12nsc.doe.gov