TEP to Present More Than $100,000 in Grants to Groups Aiding Youth and Families

TUCSON, Ariz. --(Business Wire)--

Tucson Electric Power (TEP) will present $101,548 in grants to 17 nonprofit organizations that improve the health and well-being of at-risk children, teens and families.

TEP's Grants That Make a Difference will be presented during an awards ceremony on Friday, Nov. 30, 2012, at 10 a.m. at the El Rio Community Health Center, 839 W. Congress in Tucson. The grant awards will be presented by Paul J. Bonavia, Chairman and CEO of TEP and its parent company, UNS Energy Corporation (NYSE: UNS); and David Hutchens, President of TEP and UNS Energy.

The grants offer financial leverage to nonprofit programs that are expanding services for the community.

"We're committed to strengthening the communities where we live and work. Our Grants That Make a Difference program is designed to make a positive difference in the lives of others by supporting nonprofit groups that demonstrate best practices in their program areas and deliver effective services in southern Arizona," Bonavia said. "The recipients also use the grants as much-needed matching funds to leverage other funds from regional sources. This strengthens local nonprofit groups as they position themselves to seek resources on a national scale."

Employee volunteers evaluated nearly 125 applications with requests totaling approximately $600,000 before selecting grant recipients. Committee members looked for programs with measurable and reasonable expectations offered by nonprofit organizations that have demonstrated financial and organizational stability. The ability to collaborate with other agencies to make the most of limited resources is an important characteristic of all grant winners. Grants, awarded to organizations with programs that address a wide variety of social prblems, include:

Help for at-risk children

$5,000 to Gabriel's Angels, to add teams of handler/dog for the pet therapy program that provides therapeutic visits to abused and at-risk children.
$4,048 to the Diaper Bank of Southern Arizona, to purchase warehouse carts to assist volunteers in the safe and efficient delivery of diapers to a wide range of nonprofit organizations.
$5,000 to the El Rio Health Center Foundation for its TeenAge Parent Program, which provides education, healthcare and advocacy for teen parents.
$6,500 to the Southern Arizona Children's Advocacy Center to expand the supervised infant visitation program for parents referred by CPS.
$5,000 to Our Family Services Inc. for its Teens in Transition program, providing holistic services to homeless teens.

Education and enrichment activities

$10,000 to the Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona for science, technology, engineering and mathematics enrichment programs.
$5,000 to the Ballet Arts Foundation for "Put Your Best Foot Forward," a ballet arts and physical fitness program offered in schools with large populations of children from low-income families.
$3,000 to SCIENTEK-12 Inc. to expand the number of schools participating in the regional Science and Technology Fair.

Help for seniors

$10,000 to Community Home Repair Projects of Arizona, which coordinates skilled volunteers to do emergency home repairs for low-income seniors and disabled persons.
$10,000 to Interfaith Community Services to enable recruitment and insurance of skilled volunteer drivers providing transportation services to disabled and at-risk seniors.

Job training and pathway out of poverty

$7,500 to American Red Cross Southern Arizona Chapter as matching funds for their AmeriCorp program of veterans providing case management to veterans and their families.
$5,000 to Old Pueblo Community Services to provide case management and other outreach services to homeless veterans.
$5,000 to the Primavera Foundation, Inc. to provide emergency shelter and case management for homeless families.
$10,000 to the Young Women's Christian Association of Tucson for its employment, education and training program.

Improving healthcare and quality of life

$5,000 to Emerge! Center Against Domestic Abuse to help fund its domestic abuse volunteer program.
$3,000 to TOP DOG, Inc., which teaches people with disabilities to train their own pets to become certified service dogs.
$2,500 to the Tucson Alliance for Autism Inc. for its Autism Resource Library, which makes books about autism available for checkout.

Grants That Make a Difference is part of TEP's award-winning community service program, which provides philanthropic gifts, in-kind services and volunteers to nonprofit organizations. Last year, employees of TEP joined their friends and family members to contribute more than 35,000 volunteer hours to worthy causes across Arizona.

Tucson Electric Power provides safe, reliable electric service to more than 400,000 customers in southern Arizona. To learn more, visit tep.com. For more information about UNS Energy, visit uns.com.