Chevron awards $43,000 in grants
Nine area organizations received $43,000 in grants funded by Chevron in a program Wednesday hosted by the Community Foundation of Fayette County.
In addition, Chevron announced it is making another $50,000 contribution to the foundation for the spring/summer cycle of the Chevron Community Fund grant program.
Deadline for applications for the new cycle of grants is June 30.
“Chevron is proud to continue its partnership with the Community Foundation of Fayette County,” said Trip Oliver, manager of policy, government and public affairs for Chevron’s Appalachian/Michigan Business Unit.
“Our social investment program, which includes our partnership with the Community Foundation of Fayette County, will focus on supporting the education of our region’s youth, enhancing job training and workforce development efforts and supporting quality of life improvements,” Oliver said.
The recipients of the 2011 Chevron Community Fund are as follows:
n American Heart Association of Fayette County, a $6,000 grant to pay for the “CPR Anytime” program in A.J. McMullen, Ben Franklin and Lafayette schools. The program will teach seventh-grade students how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) through a take-home kit with an inflatable mannequin and DVD of instructions.
n Big Brothers/Big Sisters of the Laurel Region, $5,000 for its “One-on-One Mentoring” program in schools Brownsville Area, Uniontown Area and Connellsville Area districts. The program is geared toward at-risk students.
n Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, $6,000 to support the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) camp, a week-long event open to students in grades nine through 12 that will focus on career development in those four fields.
n Scottdale Public Library, $3,000 to support its laptop mobile station used in helping people who don’t have a computer or access to one learn how to use a computer.
n The Salvation Army, Fayette County, $2,500 to fund basic needs, including food, clothing and shelter.
n Washington & Jefferson College, $6,000 for its Chevron Environmental Youth Service Camp, a week-long event for students in grades five through seven to learn about environmental and leadership issues.
n Wesley Health Center in Connellsville, $10,000 to support the center’s free primary health care services for people who don’t have health insurance. The grant will specifically help pay for an oral screening program.
n Women & Girls Foundation of Southwestern Pennsylvania, $2,000 to support its “Girl Gov” program aimed at helping girls become more involved in entering into politics and public service.
n Fay-Penn Economic Development Council, $2,500 for its scholarship fund.
“We are pleased to have this opportunity to assist Chevron with its grant-making program, which will provide addition benefits to valuable community organizations throughout the region,” said Valerie Bacharach, community foundation chairman.
Chevron’s Appalachian/Michigan Business Unit is headquartered in Moon Township but also has a facility in the Fayette Business Park near Smithfield. Chevron has more than 470 employees in the region, 200 of which who work out of Fayette County, Oliver said.
“We want to make sure that southwestern Pennsylvania is prepared for the jobs we are offering and will offer in the future,” Oliver said.
Chevron is a leading operator in the Marcellus shale natural gas field. The company is based in San Ramon, Calif. More information on Chevron is available online at www.chevron.com.
The community foundation was created in 1999 with the mission to attract, manage and distribute charitable resourdces. More information on the foundation is available online at www.cffayettepa.org.