For Immediate Release | May 9, 2017

Tucson, Ariz. – Tucson Electric Power (TEP) awarded $125,000 in grants today to help eight local nonprofit groups develop educational opportunities for kids, care for our environment and provide assistance to youth and families in need.

TEP’s Community Impact Grants will be used by local nonprofit groups to provide food, clothing and housing to homeless children, support job training in science and technology fields, and provide veterinary and rehabilitative care to injured and orphaned wildlife.

“We award Community Impact Grants to support the work of incredible nonprofit groups that make Southern Arizona a better place to live,” said David G. Hutchens, TEP’s President and CEO. “What better way to commemorate TEP 125th anniversary than investing in the success of efforts that will improve our customers’ quality of life for many years to come.”

The 2017 TEP Community Impact Grants include:

Community Assistance

• $30,000 to Our Family Services to provide temporary housing, food, clothing, furnishings and household goods to hundreds of homeless children, youth and families through the organization’s New Beginnings Shelter & Housing programs.
• $16,500 to Youth on Their Own for its Student Living Expense Program, which provides financial assistance and other support to help more than 100 homeless youth become self-sufficient, complete high school and pursue other successes.
• $15,000 to St. Elizabeth’s Health Center for its Emergency Dental Services for Low Income People program. Grant funds will pay for filings, extractions, root canals and other oral surgeries to more than 100 people.

Education

• $22,000 to the Sunnyside School District Foundation Inc. for its Future City science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) program. Grant funds will pay the costs of educational experiences for students from backgrounds that are underrepresented in science, technology and engineering careers.
• $10,000 to Act One’s field trip program, which sends students from schools serving limited-income families on field trips to art museums, theater performances, concerts and other artistic venues. Grant funds will cover the cost of tickets, transportation and educational materials for more than 1,100 students.
• $10,000 to JobPath for its Ensure Success program, which provides financial support to unemployed or underemployed Pima County residents enrolled in college-level education and job-training programs for careers in the electric, nursing, engineering and aviation industries.
• $10,000 to Make Way for Books’ Story Project, a program that provides books and literary experiences to more than 5,000 children annually in Pima County.

Environmental Protection and Sustainability

• $11,500 to the Tucson Wildlife Center for its Injured Raptor Rescue Program, which provides veterinary and rehabilitation care to injured and orphaned Coopers hawks, owls and other birds of prey.TEP Community Impact Grants are available to organizations in TEP’s service territory and in eastern Arizona communities near TEP’s Springerville Generating Station. TEP Community Impact Grants, like other community investments, are funded from corporate resources, not customers’ rates.

TEP employee volunteers and other stakeholders selected this year’s Community Impact Grant recipients through a competitive process that attracted 85 applications from local nonprofit groups. Winners were chosen based on program effectiveness and sustainability, applicants’ organizational capabilities and other criteria. TEP also will award an additional $10,000 to nonprofit organizations in the White Mountains communities near TEP’s Springerville Generating Station.

TEP Community Impact Grants are available to organizations in TEP’s service territory and in eastern Arizona communities near TEP’s Springerville Generating Station. TEP Community Impact Grants, like other community investments, are funded from corporate resources, not customers’ rates.

TEP provides safe, reliable electric service to nearly 420,000 customers in Southern Arizona. The company, founded in 1892, is commemorating its 125th anniversary this year through various community service initiatives. For more information, visit tep.com. TEP and its parent company, UNS Energy, are subsidiaries of Fortis Inc., which owns utilities that serve more than 3 million customers across Canada and in the United States and the Caribbean. To learn more, visit fortisinc.com.

News Media Contact: Joseph Barrios, (520) 884-3725, jbarrios@tep.com