Giving back

Altrusa gives to research

Altrusa of Springdale gave a donation to the Alzheimer’s Association to help with research of the disease of 55 million people worldwide. The check was presented to Heath Harrison of Elite Home Health Care. Altrusa recently gave books to moms and babies of Loving Choices and took girls of Compassion House for burgers and Gator Golf. On hand for the presentation were Kate Suarez, Jeannie Gillmore, Susan Verser, Diane McCready, Heath Harrison, Regina Chapman, Geri Alvis, Mary Jaro, Reanetta Edwards and Destiny Sandoval.

Peace at Home Family Shelter

On Sept. 16, more than 50 friends of Susan Chase came together at the Springdale Country Club to support her in her fight against breast cancer and to provide needed donations for Peace at Home Family Shelter.

The My Bye, Bye, Boobie party brought in over $300 in gift cards, $70 cash and 222 bras to give to The Peace at Home Family Shelter. That translates to almost $9,000 worth of bras to be given to women at the shelter who often have to move out of their homes in the middle of the night to get their families out of danger.

The bras and donations provided will provide Peace at Home Family Shelter with a year’s worth of bras for victims of domestic violence seeking shelter and services.

McKinney Trust awards organizations

The 2015 Carl and Alleen McKinney Trust award recipients accepted checks during a presentation Aug. 28 at the Arvest Bank Bentonville on the Square Conference Center. The trust was established by Carl and Alleen McKinney and has been managed by Arvest Trust Company since 1997.

The trust — established to benefit the children, youth, elderly, poor and disadvantaged of the Bentonville area — has given more than $2,752,597 to local charities since its creation. This year, $167,383 was distributed.

Diana Smith, trust officer and administrator of McKinney Trust, presented the awards.

This year’s recipients include: Lifeline of Northwest Arkansas, $15,000; Single Parent Scholarship Fund of Benton County, $12,000; Sunshine School and Development Center, $10,000; Northwest Arkansas Women’s Shelter, $15,000; Arkansas Children’s Hospital Foundation, $9,000; Helen Walton Children’s Enrichment Center, $10,651; Horses for Healing, $10,000; Circle Of Life Hospice, $16,000; the Adult Development Center, Open Avenues, $18,000; Boys and Girls Club of Benton County, $18,232; Bella Vista Courtesy Van, $5,000; Mercy Health Foundation, $10,000; Youth Bride, $10,000; and Havenwood, $8,500.

Literacy Foundation awards grants

The Dollar General Literacy Foundation awarded $11,944 to area schools, nonprofits and literacy organizations to enhance and support youth literacy and education programs. These grant awards are part of more than $4 million in grants awarded today to approximately 870 schools, nonprofits and organizations throughout the 43 states Dollar General serves.

Local award recipients include: Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter, Bentonville, $4,000; Tutoring Resources of Arkansas, Rogers, $4,000; and Westside Elementary School, Rogers, $3,944.

These youth literacy grants are awarded at the beginning of the academic year in an effort to give teachers, schools and organizations a great start with the funding and resources they need for the upcoming school year. Grant applications for adult, family, summer and youth literacy grants will be available in January.

Information: dgliteracy.org.

Organizations receive donations

The AT&T Pioneer Razorback Council donated two checks of $250 each to support charitable organizations in honor of Sept. 11, 2001. The first donation was presented to the Fayetteville Senior Activity and Wellness Center located at 945 S. College Avenue. The donation is to buy an FSC Memorial Brick along their sidewalk to show AT&T Pioneer’s support of the Meals on Wheels Program. AT&T Pioneer Razorback Council members presenting the check to Kayla Folsom, center director, inclded Shirley Alexander; Norma Dobbs; Tura Graves, treasurer; Rita Childress, pro-temp secretary; and LuElla Yates, president.

The second check was presented to support the Fayetteville Schools Back-Pack Program. The AT&T Pioneers have long been a pro-community active organization, and because of the AT&T employees giving into the Telecom-pioneers Charitable Foundation, the Razorback Council group and all other Pioneer volunteer networks can continue offering help and hope into our local communities.

AT&T Pioneer Razorback Council meet at 1 p.m. every first Friday of the month at the Whole Hog Cafe in Fayetteville.

Meals on Wheels receives grant

Walmart’s concern for the well-being of elderly citizens of Benton County designates a $10,000 grant to Meals on Wheels of Benton County. This grant will be used for the purchase of replacement refrigerator, freezer, cookware, new congregate meal trays plus meal cost assistance. By choice, Meals on Wheels of Benton County receives no state or federal assistance, therefore Meals on Wheels of Benton County client service is thereby enabled to serve, and not limited to, a “60-year and older” age constraint and any physical disability.

Meals on Wheels of Benton County is always looking for monetary or food donations. To sponsor a client, visit mow-bentonco.org.

Verizon Foundation gives STEM grant

Springdale High School Bulldogs barked and howled with delight at their pep rally recently when presented with a $10,000 check from Verizon to support the school’s engineering and architecture academy. The academy teaches students critical-thinking skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, commonly referred to as STEM.

State Sen. Jon Woods and Verizon representatives toured the school’s engineering and architecture academy immediately after the pep rally for a student demonstration of some of the projects that have been created.

The grant is intended to provide students access to advanced technology and mentoring opportunities with highly trained experts in the STEM fields. About 80 percent of the fastest-growing occupations require STEM adequacy, according to an EdTech report from STEMconnector.

Information: VerizonFoundation.org.

Single Parent Scholarship Fund receives donation

Single Parent Scholarship Fund of Northwest Arkansas has received a donation from United Bank to the Pathway to Prosperity Campaign to Endow Scholarships. Single Parent Scholarship Fund of Northwest Arkansas launched the Pathway to Prosperity Campaign to address a significant funding challenge — the loss of $130,000 in annual grant funding to support scholarships. The $50,000 contribution from United Bank has helped the scholarship fund reach more than $2.5 million toward its $3 million goal for endowment. The gift will help sustain the scholarship program by establishing the “United Bank Merit Scholarships,” which will be awarded to exemplary students with cumulative grade-point averages of 3.5 and higher to recognize their hard work and determination toward creating better, brighter futures for the families through higher education.

UAFS receives grant

A $15,000 grant from Verizon to the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith will help more girls in the greater Fort Smith region learn about and pursue careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

J.J. Vignault, Ginger Daril and Lee Deloach of Verizon, along with state Sen. Jake Files, presented the check during the university’s Board of Visitors meeting Sept. 23, with the gift funding a summer camp at the university for girls interested in pursuing careers in the STEM field.

The UAFS-Verizon STEM Camp for Girls will be open to junior high school students and make STEM fields accessible and fun by featuring hands-on experiments in STEM areas, mentoring by female STEM professionals and real-life applications of STEM concepts in various industries.

Teachers can also take advantage of professional development opportunities during the camp, according to Dr. Jen Jamison, assistant professor of chemistry and co-organizer of the camp.

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