• Employee-directed grants focus on local communities
Tampa, FL, Jan. 29, 2008 -- The PBSJ Corporation, parent company of PBS&J and PBS&J Constructors Inc., has announced the award of grants totaling nearly $170,000. Grants will be administered through The PBSJ Foundation Inc., a 501(c)(3) foundation focused on helping the corporation's employee-owned subsidiaries expand their programs for charitable giving.
The Foundation Board meets quarterly throughout the year to consider funding requests. At its Dec. 2007 Board meeting, grants for the following organizations were announced:
• University of Montana Foundation; University of Montana Excellence Fund; Missoula, MT
• Escambia County Pubic School Foundation for Excellence; Take Stock in Children; Pensacola, FL
• The Community Foundation of Central Florida; City of Orlando's Parramore Kidz Zone; Orlando, FL
• Colorado State University; PBS&J Scholarship; Fort Collins, CO
• Society of Women Engineers; SWE Scholarship Fund; San Diego, CA
• The Foundation for Osceola Education Inc.; Take Stock in Children; Osceola County, FL
• California Planning Foundation; Graduate & Undergraduate Planning Student Scholarships in Urban Planning Programs; CA
• Jobs for America's Graduates -- Colorado Inc.
• All People Promoting Literacy Efforts -- Counting our Reading Efforts (APPLE CORE); Henderson, NV
• The Urban League of Broward County; Atlantic Coast of Excellence Academic Competitions; FL
• Fort Valley University Foundation; Cooperative Developmental Energy Program Scholarships; Fort Valley, GA
• Rose Elementary School; Science Club; Escondido, CA
The Foundation has also provided funding for PBS&J's signature community outreach program, kidsclass
SM. The latest grants will fund kidsclass
SM programs in Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
"The Foundation's program of giving is driven by the employees of The PBSJ Corporation," says Clarence Anthony, a member of the Foundation Board. "Each grant recipient must be sponsored by one of our staff members who believes in the organization's mission and in the long-term benefit that organization and the grant will bring to the local community." The Foundation is focused primarily in the areas of supporting community initiatives that support education by providing scholarships and supporting public/private institutions of learning.
The PBSJ Corporation has a long-established tradition of giving back to the communities in which its employees live and work. As the company's professional interests have expanded nationally, so has the opportunity to reach into more communities to make a difference.
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