CNS announces employee-directed community grants

  • Posted: Monday, March 13, 2017, 5:22 pm

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – Twenty-nine nonprofits from across East Tennessee walked away with a total of $125,000 in grants from the Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC (CNS) Y-12 Community Investment Fund. The recipients were announced today at a reception at Y-12’s New Hope Center.

The CNS Y-12 Community Investment Fund is managed by the East Tennessee Foundation and was created in 2014 by CNS. CNS manages and operates the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, where a similar fund is managed by the Amarillo Area Foundation.

At Y-12, a committee made up of CNS employees reviewed dozens of grant proposals, conducted staff interviews, and made site visits before recommending funding based on the committee’s four focus areas: Education, Senior Citizens, Veterans, and Youth.

This year, the donor-advised fund awarded 29 grants to organizations in 12 East Tennessee counties. The counties included Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Claiborne, Hamblen, Knox, Loudon, McMinn, Monroe, Roane, Scott, and Sevier Counties.

Y-12 Site Manager Bill Tindal said he was proud of the committee’s work. “I want to congratulate our committee on making some tough choices during this process,” he said. “We received more than 100 proposals—all of them good ones. It was up to the committee to select the ones where our grant money would make the greatest difference in our community.”

Grants from the CNS Y-12 Community Investment Fund have been awarded to the following organizations:

Organization Project summary
Anderson County Career and Technical Center Implement Fischertechnik equipment to learn STEM skills in System Control Technology
Blount County Children’s Advocacy Center Provide ongoing support of forensic interviewing program
Boys & Girls Club of Monroe County Deliver interactive reading classes during after-school program
Boys & Girls Club of the Smoky Mountains Support career and technical education programs
Briceville Elementary School Acquire 250 books and eBooks to prepare beginning readers
Campbell County Children’s Center Supply funding for the Victim Support Advocate program
Court Appointed Special Advocates of East Tennessee Provide continued support to recruit, train and support volunteers to advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected children in Knox County
CASA of Tennessee Heartland Supply funds for the Fostering Futures Program provides mentors to empower youth who are at risk of aging out of foster care to live independently of the system
CONTACT Care Line Launch telephone reassurance program supporting homebound, at-risk seniors, who live alone with little or no caregiver support
East Tennessee Human Resource Agency Provide meals to seniors in the counties served through ETHRA's Home Delivered and Congregate Nutrition Program
Ecumenical Storehouse Supply basic household items to people in poverty or crisis
Family Promise of Blount County Provide intensive case-management-based educational training sessions for families who have experienced homelessness and have moved into permanent housing
Lincoln Memorial University Sustain TheCore program for high-school students in Claiborne and Union counties who are identified as underserved and high risk and would be first-generation college students
Ministerial Association Temporary Shelter (MATS) Support this program combats homelessness in East Tennessee by providing life-altering education and training for men, women and children to restructure their lives
Men of Tomorrow Foundation Purchase kits to support a STEM project for minority and disadvantaged students participating in the MOT Program. MOT, in collaboration with Oak Ridge School System, will host Forensics Saturdays
Michael Dunn Center Support early Intervention services for children from birth through two years identified as having a developmental delay in the counties of Anderson, Roane, Knox, Morgan, Campbell, Scott, Union and Claiborne
Mission of Hope Provide clothing bags containing all-new items, including underwear, socks, coat, gloves, hat, jeans, shirt and shoes, to the neediest students in the Tennessee and Kentucky schools
Norris Community Library Support the Summer Reading Program
Oak Ridge High School Sustain the Career Pathways community program to provide part-time jobs for students at Oak Ridge High School who need additional support to graduate and become college- and career-ready
Oak Ridge Schools Provide additional opportunities for at-risk students to engage in reading instruction
Our Daily Bread of Tennessee Support Taking Root Tennessee, which aims to inspire healthy food choices in young children by providing daily garden access and activities to child-care settings
Quilts of Valor Foundation Provide funding to support creation of handcrafted quilts for service members and veterans who have been touched by war
Ridin’ High, Inc. Support the Therapeutic Horse Program that works with at-risk boys who reside at the Helen Ross McNabb Center in Morristown
Roane County Anti-Drug Coalition Provide funds for the Over-The-Counter Medication Safety Program, which uses a team approach to substance-abuse prevention
Roane State Community College Foundation Support students from Anderson County, Clinton, Oak Ridge and Campbell County high schools as they earn Siemens Level One Mechatronics Systems Assistant Certification to prepare for good jobs directly out of high school and encourages them to continue post-secondary education
Smoky Mountain Service Dogs Support acquisition and training of mobility-assistance service dogs for disabled American Veterans at no cost
Schools Together Allowing No Drugs (STAND) Deliver leadership training for Youth Service Learning Initiative in Scott County
The Arc Anderson County Provide an After School/Summer Program for young people with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities
Volunteer Ministry Center Provide comprehensive dental services free of charge to individuals experiencing homelessness and persons with no or very low income in Knox County

East Tennessee Foundation was established in 1986 and serves 25 East Tennessee Counties. For more information, please contact Jan Elston, Vice President for Competitive Grant Programs for East Tennessee Foundation, at (865) 524-1223, or via email at jelston@etf.org or contact Jason Bohne, CNS Director of Communications and Public Affairs, at (865) 241-1400 or via email at Jason.bohne@cns.doe.gov.

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