AAF announces 2018 CNS Pantex employee-directed community grants
AMARILLO - Sixteen nonprofits in the Texas Panhandle are better able to continue or expand their missions thanks to grants from the Amarillo Area Foundation (AAF)-administered Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS) Pantex Community Investment Fund. AAF and CNS, which manages Pantex for the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration, today announced the recipients of charitable funds totaling $150,000.
“Our goal was to give our employees a voice in determining where corporate dollars are invested in the community where they work, live, and volunteer,” said Jason Bohne, CNS Communications director. “By working together with the Amarillo Area Foundation, we are confident that these grants and their recipients will have a positive impact in the Panhandle.”
A total of $620,000 has been awarded to nonprofits throughout the Texas Panhandle since 2016 when the grant program began. “Pantex has always been committed to improving and supporting our surrounding communities. We are very proud to continue our employees’ legacy of giving by contributing to Panhandle organizations through the CNS Community Investment Fund,” said Pantex Site Manager Todd Ailes.
The advisory committee, comprised of Pantex employees, reviewed grant applications and recommended grant awards to AAF. The grantee organizations were selected based on the following funding priorities: basic needs; children, youth, and family; community development; education; and health and wellness.
Organizations and the funds they will receive are as follows:
| Recipient Name | Grant Purpose | Amount |
| Amarillo Area CASA | to recruit, train, and retain new Volunteer Advocates in order to serve more children who have suffered abuse or neglect | $10,000 |
| Amarillo Children's Home | to support the Caring for a Child Program that provides for children in residential care | $10,000 |
| Another Chance House | to provide food and wellness support to men in the emergency shelter and transitional housing programs | $10,000 |
| Buckner Children and Family Services | to provide services and resources to youth aging out of foster care in the FYi (Fostering Youth independence) program | $5,000 |
| Camp Alphie | to help pay for lodging for the summer camp for youth who are cancer survivors and their siblings | $10,000 |
| Faith City Mission | to provide the basic needs of food and shelter to homeless and impoverished individuals | $10,000 |
| Family Care Foundation | to provide dental care to children and adults unable to afford the services | $10,000 |
| Family Support Services | to provide support services to veterans, surviving spouses, and dependents | $7,500 |
| Great Plains CASA for Kids | to assist with the renovation of the Great Plains CASA building, which will allow for program expansion | $10,000 |
| Heal the City Free Clinic | to support the chronic care program, Shalom, which provides primary care services for the uninsured and chronically ill | $10,000 |
| Hope & Healing Place | to support the Generations Family Program, which helps family members process grief due to the death of a loved one | $10,000 |
| Make-A-Wish Foundation | to pay for wish expenses for children in the Texas Panhandle facing a critical illness | $10,000 |
| Ronald McDonald House Charities of Amarillo | to cover the $20 per night for families who are unable to contribute toward their stay | $10,000 |
| Sharing Hope Ministry | to cover a portion of the salary for a part-time educational coordinator for the Center for Advancement | $7,500 |
| The Refuge @ Dumas | to replace the kitchen fire-suppression system and repair equipment to meet the fire code | $10,000 |
| Turn Center | to purchase an alternative/augmentative communication (AAC) device for special-needs children who are non-verbal | $10,000 |
Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC (CNS) operates the Pantex Plant, located in Amarillo, Texas, and the Y-12 National Security Complex, located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, under a single contract for the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration. Pantex and Y-12 are key facilities in the U.S. Nuclear Security Enterprise, and CNS performs its work with a focus on the performance excellence and the imperatives of safety, security, zero defects and delivery as promised.
For more information on each site, visit www.pantex.com or www.y12.doe.gov. Follow Pantex on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. Follow Y-12 on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr.
CONTACT
Steve Myers
Communications
Office (806) 573-6032
stephen.myers@cns.doe.gov