Hailey, Idaho, July 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The POWER Foundation, a non-profit arm of Idaho-based engineering and consulting services firm POWER Engineers, pledged this week to send $150,000 directly to schools to help alleviate challenges with distance learning and connectivity.
“The added pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic have really illuminated the challenges so many schools are facing,” said Jim Haynes, Foundation president and POWER’s chief administrative officer. “So many students and teachers don’t have the financial resources to get the equipment and materials they need to keep students from falling behind.”
The Foundation plans to focus on more than 40 schools across the country in communities near each of POWER’s offices. The initiative will start with schools in Fort Worth and Houston, Texas; Kansas City, Kansas; St. Louis, Missouri; Boston, Massachusetts; Oradell, New Jersey; and Atlanta, Georgia before focusing on other POWER locations.
To be eligible for grants, schools must receive federal Title I funding, which is allocated to schools and districts with a high percentage of students from households with incomes at and below the federal poverty line.
“Many, many schools and students are in need right now,” said Gerry Murray, Foundation board director and head of POWER Engineers’ generation division. “We want to make sure the Foundation is focusing on schools and communities where we can make a real impact.”
The POWER Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization, was founded in 2013 to solidify and formalize the company’s commitment to promoting education in science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics (STEAM). This is the largest amount ever pledged by the Foundation for a single effort, roughly 50% of the Foundation’s typical annual donation amount. Previous notable donations include $100,000 pledges to the South Meridian YMCA and the World Center for Birds of Prey, both located near Boise.
About the POWER Foundation: POWER has actively supported the communities in which our employees live and work since our founding in 1976. In 2013, we formalized our commitment by creating the POWER Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that allows us to actively support science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics (STEAM). Our foundation allows POWER to think globally and act locally, inspiring a love of STEAM in future generations.
About POWER Engineers: POWER Engineers is a global consulting engineering firm specializing in the delivery of integrated solutions for energy, food and beverage facilities, environmental and federal markets. POWER Engineers offers complete multidiscipline engineering and program management services. Founded in 1976, it is an employee-owned company with 45 offices and more than 2,700 employees throughout the United States and abroad.