Valero St. Charles donates $800,000 to children's charities
More than 40 local children's charities received a total of $800,000 from employees of the Valero St. Charles Refinery in Louisiana. The employees helped raise the funds through the Valero Energy Foundation and the company's sponsorship of the 2019 Valero Texas Open and Benefit for Children in San Antonio.
Thanks to the overwhelming support of Valero's business partners and sponsors, the Valero Texas Open and Benefit for Children generated more than $15 million in net proceeds to be distributed throughout the U.S. With this year's result, the event has raised an all-time total of more than $153 million, making it one of the most charitable tournaments on the PGA Tour.
Valero extended its contract with the PGA Tour as title sponsor of the Valero Texas Open through 2028. Agencies selected to receive Benefit for Children funds each year are nominated by Valero employees.
For more information, visit www.valero.com or www.valerotexasopen.com/charity.
Duke Energy joins fight against opioids with $500k in grants
Duke Energy is awarding $500,000 in grant funding to two organizations championing the battle against the opioid epidemic in North Carolina. The Duke Energy Foundation awarded $100,000 to the More Powerful NC campaign and $400,000 to the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition (NCHRC).
The More Powerful NC campaign was created by the North Carolina Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services, as well as other partners, to raise awareness about the opioid crisis and encourage North Carolinians to take action in their own communities.
Duke Energy Foundation funding for NCHRC will establish nine new regular outreach sites, expand wraparound services and build capacity by creating a replicable model for community technical assistance. Within 12 months, the grant to NCRHC will reach 2,360 individuals through direct service and 25 communities through technical assistance programs engaging local healthcare providers, government, law enforcement and social services.
For more information, visit www.duke-energy.com/foundation or www.nchrc.org.
Sempra Energy donates to Fisher House in commitment to U.S. vets
Sempra Energy recently donated $20,000 to Fisher House Foundation. In the past five years, the Sempra Energy family of companies has donated approximately $2.5 million to causes supporting veterans or active-duty service members. The Fisher House Foundation builds comfort homes for military and veteran families to stay in while their loved one is in the hospital, offering a grant program to support scholarship funds for military children and spouses, as well as children of fallen and disabled veterans.
This year's grant will support the Fisher House Foundation's Heroes' Legacy Scholarship program, which provides scholarships to children of veterans who have died or become disabled through their military service.
For more information, visit www.sempra.com or www.fisherhouse.org.
BASF introduces female high school students to STEM careers
BASF recently sponsored "Girl Powered," a hands-on workshop that introduced 100 ninth-grade female students from Ascension Parish's four high schools to careers in STEM. BASF brought the event to Ascension Parish through a partnership with the Robotics Education and Competition Foundation and VEX Robotics.
Participants in the workshop built robots, learned the basics of coding and heard from female BASF employees in a variety of STEM-related careers, including engineers, operators and lab technicians.
"The workforce of tomorrow is in our schools right now, and BASF is a valued partner in our effort to develop the next-generation workforce," said Ascension Public Schools Superintendent David Alexander.
In addition to this event, BASF supports STEM education and robotics through sponsorship and mentorship of Ascension Parish's high school and middle school robotics teams.
For more information, visit www.basf.com or call (225) 339-7476.