Alcoa Foundation Awards $45,000 in Local Grants to Promote Education, Healthcare and Land Preservation in NC

The Alcoa Foundation has awarded grants to three North Carolina organizations totaling $45,000 as part of its ongoing commitment to support worthwhile causes in the local community that are dedicated to improving education, protecting the environment and advancing health and safety.

The Stanly Community College Foundation, Stanly Regional Medical Center and LandTrust for Central North Carolina each received a $15,000 grant from the Alcoa Foundation. This money will support workforce education, provide enhanced medical care for rural and at-risk communities, and support land conservation efforts across central North Carolina.

“The Alcoa Foundation is proud to support these three important projects that will benefit our local community,” said Nicole Wright, the local coordinator for Alcoa Foundation grants in North Carolina. “These projects will train Stanly County students for engineering jobs, make it easier for residents to get quality healthcare, and support non-profit organizations that help protect our environment.”

The Alcoa Foundation grants include:

Stanly Community College Foundation

As part of Stanly Community College’s continued emphasis on workforce education and training, the $15,000 grant will be used to support the Electronics Engineering Technology program. The program, part of the College’s Advanced Manufacturing and Industrial Technology initiative, helps train students for jobs such as automation and mechatronics technicians, plant maintenance technicians, and equipment maintenance technicians. The grant money will purchase equipment, including basic hydraulic furniture and a pump, that enables the College to build a full hydraulic training system for its Industrial Electronics lab that will open in 2016. The College expects to train 40 students a year and provide them with an understanding of hydraulic components, circuits, and laws.

“Alcoa has been a long-time partner of Stanly Community College, especially in the area of workforce development. We are grateful for its continued support," said Dr. Brenda Kays, president of Stanly Community College. “This grant will help support our new Advanced Manufacturing and Industrial Technology Center by providing much needed equipment to help our students learn new skills.”

Stanly Regional Medical Center

The $15,000 grant will be used by the hospital to purchased advanced technology to provide telemedicine services at rural, high-risk clinics in Stanly and Montgomery County. Telemedicine eliminates the transportation barrier many patient face by  allowing the clinics to immediately share vital medical information – using two-way video and other wireless technology – with the hospital. This technology improves patient healthcare and allows the patient to more easily receive information about how to manage chronic diseases.

“The Stanly Regional Medical Center Foundation is grateful to Alcoa for their support through the telemedicine grant. Our Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Department is thrilled to be able to serve our community more fully through these funds. With each meeting, they think of more effective and efficient ways to reach their patients through this grant. Together, we look forward to improving the health of our community,” said Rebekah Ayscue, SRMC Foundation Annual Giving Officer.

The LandTrust for Central North Carolina

The $15,000 grant will be used to deploy a new database and monitoring system (ConservationTrack) that provides online tools to more effectively manage the stewardship of 600 conservation easements and properties stretching across central North Carolina. As part of an agreement to maximize their collective resources, this technology will be jointly used by the LandTrust for Central North Carolina, Catawba Lands Conservancy and Piedmont Land Conservancy. 

“With the help of the Alcoa Foundation, The LandTrust for Central North Carolina is breaking new ground by partnering with other land trusts to apply current technology to back office operations. This grant from Alcoa not only makes this possible, but leverages the opportunity by making larger projects more affordable over the long term," said Addison Davis, program director for The LandTrust for Central North Carolina.

Alcoa and the Alcoa Foundation have a long history of supporting worthwhile causes in central North Carolina. It has donated more than $4 million in the past 25 years to support economic development and assist nearly 100 local non-profit organizations.

About the Alcoa Foundation

Alcoa Foundation is one of the largest corporate foundations in the United States, with assets of approximately $480 million. Founded 63 years ago, Alcoa Foundation has invested more than $615 million. In 2014, Alcoa Foundation contributed more than $22 million to nonprofit organizations throughout the world, building innovative partnerships to improve the environment and educate tomorrow’s leaders for careers in manufacturing and engineering. The work of Alcoa Foundation is further enhanced by Alcoa’s thousands of employee volunteers who share their talents and time to make a difference in the communities where Alcoa operates. Through the company’s signature Month of Service program, in 2014, 58 percent of Alcoa employees took part in more than 1,000 events across 24 countries, benefiting more than 700,000 people and 500 nonprofit organizations. For more information, visit www.alcoafoundation.com.