$150,000 DONATED TO 10 SAN DIEGO NONPROFITS THROUGH COX CARES FOUNDATION

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Oct. 26, 2015 –The Cox Cares Foundation has awarded 10 San Diego nonprofit organizations a $15,000 grant each, totaling $150,000. The funds will go toward programs that focus on youth, education, wounded military veterans and conservation.

An additional $5,000 will be awarded to the organization with the most votes and retweets in an online and Twitter public voting campaign that runs through Oct. 30, 2015. The public can visit Cox Cares Foundation or Cox California’s Twitter page to cast a vote for one of the 10 nonprofit grant recipients they feel is most in need of the additional $5,000. Votes must be cast by 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 30, 2015.

The Cox Cares Foundation 2015 Nonprofit Grant recipients for San Diego are:

• A Reason To Survive (ARTS) – ARTS leads a new initiative to transform San Diego’s poorest community through arts-based projects. Utilizing professional artist-to-youth mentorships and community members, the initiative will result in 30 multi-disciplinary community art projects; 100 new youth apprenticeship opportunities; and engagement with thousands of elementary and middle school students.
• Autism Tree Project Foundation –The foundation’s Early Intervention Preschool Screening Program reduces costs and minimizes the need for special education and related services. The program’s goal is to provide free screenings to all 10,300 Head Start Preschoolers annually in preparation for kindergarten.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Oceanside –The Boys & Girls Clubs of Oceanside has implemented an organization-wide Science, Technology, Research, Engineering, Arts and Math (STREAM) program. This year-round program is designed to develop a greater interest and appreciation for the world of STREAM and its relation to real world applications and careers. Members participate four days a week, and each program component runs for a two-week session.
• ECOLIFE Conservation – ECOLIFE has been working with more than 350 classrooms within San Diego County, and a growing number nationally, to provide hands-on learning projects that inspire students’ curiosity in STEM subjects, while highlighting serious water, environmental and health challenges facing California. ECOLIFE’s school-aquaponics program is focused on engaging students in science while promoting stewardship for the environment. Aquaponics uses a fraction of water compared to traditional agriculture, making it a timely teaching tool given the drought in California.
• Guitars in the Classroom – This program will train 72 Title 1 classroom teachers in San Diego County through workshops and classroom visits to improve English Language Arts and math learning via inclusion of lesson-related singing, strumming and songwriting. Participants will learn guitar, ukulele and composition to strengthen core academic concepts and lessons, and boost creativity, communication and collaboration skills at every grade level.
• International Rescue Committee (San Diego) – Through its Connect2Work program, the International Rescue Committee is providing at-risk youth ages 16-21 with work readiness training, career exploration, paid work experience, academic tutoring to support high school graduation or a completion of a GED, and assistance enrolling in post-secondary education or vocational training. The program has served youth from some of San Diego’s most impoverished neighborhoods.
• Next Step Service Dogs – Next Step Service Dogs empowers positive change for veterans with invisible disabilities such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) through the use of expertly-trained service dogs.
• Ronald McDonald House Charities of San Diego – Ronald McDonald House provides educational programs that give healthy siblings the chance to learn, play with peers and interact with caring adults at a time when their needs may otherwise take second place to a hospitalized child.
• STAR/PAL – STAR/PAL provides underserved youth with educational programs that address juvenile delinquency including academic support, community service and civic engagement activities, life-skills training and crime and violence prevention education. The programs are offered under the guidance of law enforcement officers and community volunteers, and seek to motivate underserved youth to make better choices. The project consists of seven programs: GirL-E (Leadership & Empowerment), Man Up, Voices & Choices, Making Changes, Teen-LEAP (Leadership, Awareness Program), InterACTion, and Mentoring Youth for Tomorrow (MYT).
• Zoological Society of San Diego – The San Diego Zoo has developed a partnership with the Naval Medical Center at Balboa Hospital’s Wounded Warriors program. Many of these heroes have survived severe injuries resulting in amputations, the need for wheelchairs, and severe post-traumatic stress disorder. Located across the street, the Zoo provides vital components to the recovery of these heroes. This includes giving patients a chance to practice walking on new prosthetics in the early morning hours and an education program for their children.

About the Cox Cares Foundation

Funded by employee payroll donations that are matched by the company, the Cox Cares Foundation provides support to communities in Cox Communications’ service area by awarding scholarships to high school seniors, Innovation in Education grants to local schools, and grants to non-profit organizations. A volunteer advisory board of Cox employees oversees the foundation and its giving programs.