Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Giving back
CASA
CASA of Northwest Arkansas was recently awarded a $26,000 grant from Jewelers for Children to increase the number of volunteers who represent the best interests of abused and neglected children in court. This competitive award is part of a $625,000 grant that JFC made to the National Court Appointed Special Advocates Association.
CASA of Northwest Arkansas is committed to providing a volunteer advocate to every child who needs one by 2020. Meeting this goal will require a 33 percent increase in its overall volunteer base over the next three years. The Jewelers for Children grant, aimed at growing the volunteer base through targeted marketing, will put the organization one step closer to serving every foster child in need.
Circle of Life Hospice
Circle of Life Hospice, an organization that provides compassionate end-of-life care to patients and their families, has received a furniture donation from La-Z-Boy Furniture of Siloam Springs. La-Z-Boy donated new furniture valued at approximately $30,000 to be used in the main living room area of the Earlene Howard Hospice Home in Springdale.
Circle of Life Hospice is focused on quality of life for patients and their families during their final months. This gift will assist in expanding Circle’s mission to provide compassionate endof-life care for a person’s body, mind, spirit and family when there is no longer a cure.
Boys & Girls Clubs
In conjunction with the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G, the Walmart Foundation announced three grants totaling $650,000 to area Boys & Girls Clubs of Northwest Arkansas
The three grants were awarded to the Boys & Girls Club of Benton County, Boys & Girls Club of Siloam Springs and the Donald W. Reynolds Boys & Girls Club of Fayetteville.
■ Boys & Girls Club of Benton County: The grant will serve more than 2,200 youth through the club’s after school and summer youth programs at its four facilities, Bentonville, Rog-
ers, Teen Center in Bentonville and Bella Vista.
■ Boys & Girls Club of Siloam Springs: The grant will provide more than 920 children and youth access to the club’s programs by reducing fees in 2018 at four sites, Siloam Springs, Decatur, Gravette and Gentry. ■ Donald W. Reynolds Boys & Girls Club of Fayetteville: The grant will provide more than 1,700 club membership scholarships to adults, children and families living in Washington County.
American Red Cross
The Farm Credit Associations in Arkansas donated $13,000 to the Northeast Arkansas chapter of the American Red Cross to support flood relief efforts across the state.
Widespread flooding in late April killed five people and displaced hundreds of Arkansans. The Red Cross served more than 7,500 meals, distributed nearly 1,700 clean-up kits and provided 1,000 overnight shelter stays.
Peace at Home
As part of Tyson Foods’ efforts to raise the world’s expectations for how much good food can do and its charitable focus on building healthier communities, healthier people and addressing food insecurity, the company awarded nearly $400,000 in community grants to 17 nonprofit organizations in 10 states.
The company’s efforts to build healthier communities include support for community foundations, educational institutions and emergency medical services (EMS). Examples include $20,000 to the Vienna, Ga., Fire Department for respiratory
equipment, and $25,000 to the Peace at Home Family Shelter in Fayetteville for Tyson chaplain training to manage domestic abuse. A $15,000 grant was awarded to the Rogers Public Education Foundation (RPEF) in Rogers for teacher micro grants at schools near company facilities. The micro grants program allows teachers from across the district to apply for funds that will provide enhanced learning opportunities for their students, such as increased technology in the classroom, outdoor education initiatives, opportunities for students to be active, and other programs with appropriate relevancy.
Tyson Foods is also investing in improving the lives of its team members and their families. A major example is Upward Academy, a workplace education program that focuses on the needs of plant workers, many of whom are immigrants. Grants to support Upward Academy include $46,660 to Ozark Literacy Council for English as a Second Language (ESL), General Education Development (GED) and citizenship classes. An additional $13,500 was awarded to the Springdale School District to provide Tyson Foods’ team members with children in the district the opportunity to receive enrollment support services during a back to school event.
Building on Tyson Foods’ long-standing commitment to address hunger insecurity, $25,000 was awarded to the Tarrant Area Food Bank in Fort Worth, Texas, for a mobile food pantry. In addition, $25,000 was awarded to Neosho Bright Futures in Neosho, Mo., for a backpack program that will provide weekend meals for preschool children to high school students.
Hunger relief and innovation intersect with a $24,680 grant to the River Bend Food Reservoir, which will use the funds for logistics software and inventory tracking across a 22-county area in Iowa and Illinois. The software will reduce staff time creating daily routes, lower transportation costs and improve customer service to the more than 300 partner agencies the food bank serves.
Other organizations Tyson Foods supported with recent grants include:
Catholic Charities, Omaha, Neb., $25,000, food pantry; Clarksville School District, Clarksville, $15,000, ESL training; Flintville Volunteer Fire Department, Flintville, Tenn., $9,614, swift water training and boat; Fort Smith Adult Education Center, Fort Smith, $15,794, Mobile Digital Literacy Lab; Freestore Foodbank, Cincinnati, Ohio, $20,000, operational support; House of Hope Rescue Mission, Springdale, $24,000, Operational support; NW Technical Institute, Springdale, $15,794, Mobile Digital
Literacy Lab; Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee, Nashville, Tenn., $23,500, operational support and hunger relief; and United Way of Northwest Arkansas, Lowell, $25,000, driver education. Send information about charitable giving to ourtown@nwadg. The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reserves the right to include information only if photos are of poor quality. Giving Back appears in the Thursday Our Town section and the Sunday Profiles section.