For Immediate Release
Contact: Lauren Gaydos, [email protected](703) 351-2015
Arlington, Va., (November 19, 2020)— The Foundation for Rural Service (FRS) today announced the recipients of 23 grants totaling $104,000 to advance the quality of life and enable economic development in communities served by members of NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association.
The FRS grants, coupled with support from NTCA members, will broaden health care options, improve educational technology, expand emergency services, and more.
“Especially during the ongoing pandemic, the work or projects these grant recipients are going to accomplish will make a significant impact in their communities,” said FRS Executive Director Pam Becker. “It is more important than ever before to expand telemedicine options and ensure that students have access to technology. We are grateful for all our recipients’ hard work, the NTCA members that endorsed them and continue to help their communities, and to our grant sponsor Womble Bond Dickinson.”
The FRS grants this year are already making an impact as communities adjust to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Rye Elementary School in Rye, Colo., will use the grant to purchase smart boards, which will assist in virtual learning.
“Rye Elementary School will be using the grant money awarded to go toward purchasing new Promethean Boards for our general ed classrooms,” said Rye Elementary School Principal Amber Balenseifen. “The boards will help enhance both remote and in-person instruction. Right now, an electronic challenge we face with remote instruction is students can only see their teacher or the material being taught, but cannot see the teacher interacting with the material being taught. The new Promethean Boards solve this problem. This really is a game changer for our school and what we can offer instructionally on so many levels. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!”
For a complete list of awardees, click here or see below:
Bacon County Senior Center (Alma, GA)
Awarded $3,500 to purchase equipment and train the elder community of Bacon County to become more proficient using technology. Sponsored by ATCBroadband.
Baxter Fire Department (Baxter, TN)
Awarded $5,000 to purchase a thermal camera to assist firefighters in many different ways, including scene size up, fire attack, search and rescue, ventilation, overhaul, and hazardous material incidents. Sponsored by Twin Lakes.
Central CUSD#3 (Camp Point, IL)
Awarded $5,000 to create a MakerSpace Lab that will enable students to acquire 21st century skills through hands-on experience with new technologies, design and build things in a collaborative environment, and acquire the skills necessary to prepare them for STE(A)M related higher education and careers. Sponsored by Adams Telephone Co-Operative.
City of Canton (Canton, KS)
Awarded $5,000 to update the community park, resulting in more community physical activity and interaction. Sponsored by Home Telephone Company, Inc.
Grantsburg Public Library (Grantsburg, WI)
Awarded $5,000 to purchase a soundproof booth to provide patrons a quiet space to research homework assignments, participate in live video calls and visit with telehealth professionals. Sponsored by Farmers Independent Telephone Company.
Guymon Fire Department (Guymon, OK)
Awarded $5,000 to offer school children, a majority of whom have language barriers, a fire safety education course through hands-on training in a smart-home smoke trailer. Sponsored by Panhandle Telephone Cooperative, Inc.
Hays Area Children’s Center (Hays, KS)
Awarded $2,144, to update existing hearing equipment and purchase new hearing equipment for community screenings for children from birth to age five who receive early intervention services. Sponsored by Golden Belt Telephone Assn Inc.
Jackson County Middle School (Gainesboro, TN)
Awarded $4,900 to provide iPads and Apple pens to math teachers to allow better instruction for virtual students as well as a 360-degree camera to provide access to virtual field trips. Sponsored by Twin Lakes.
John de la Howe School for Agriculture (McCormick, SC)
Awarded $5,000 to purchase a Promethean ActivPanel Board and Surface Tablet Go for use in the Education Center at John de la Howe which provides agriculturally-centered K-9 field trips, summer camps, and adult education opportunities for any resident of South Carolina and surrounding states. Sponsored by West Carolina Rural Telephone Cooperative, Inc.
Martin Public Library Foundation (Martin, TN)
Awarded $5,000 to equip a new STEM education center so that all students have access to 21st Century technology to prepare for life in a global market and others who want to have opportunities for advanced educational opportunities. Sponsored by West Kentucky and Tennessee Telecommunications Cooperative.
North Fayette Valley Community Coalition, Inc. (Elgin, IA)
Awarded $4,990 to purchase an iPad, heavy duty case with stand, bean bag cushion, fidget toys and storage tote for each of the NFV School District’s five buildings to facilitate and encourage mental health telehealth services with Northeast Iowa Behavioral Health. Sponsored by Alpine Communications.
Northeast Nodaway R-V Elementary (Ravenwood, MO)
Awarded $5,000 to purchase Chromebooks to utilize during remote instruction as well as traditional in-person instruction. Sponsored by GRM Networks.
Northeast Nodaway R-V High School (Ravenwood, MO)
Awarded $5,000 to purchase Wi-Fi hotspots, curriculum and delivery platform to utilize during remote instruction. Sponsored by GRM Networks.
Perry Lutheran Homes (Perry, IA)
Awarded $5,000 to help purchase 90 iPad minis so that every capable person confined to their rooms in care centers and some to their own homes will improve their emotional and mental health by restoring on-demand, frequent and unassisted connection to their loved ones. Sponsored by Minburn Telephone Company d/b/a Minburn Communications.
Phillips County Family Education Services, Inc. (Holyoke, CO)
Awarded $5,000 to purchase laptops to provide online English instruction and academic programs to our ESL, GED and school age students. Sponsored by Phillips County Telephone Company.
Rye Elementary School (Rye, CO)
Awarded $5,000 to purchase Promethean Boards (interactive white board type display technology) for classrooms. Sponsored by Rye Telephone Company.
Seeley Lake Community Foundation (Seeley Lake, MT)
Awarded $5,000 to provide secure high-speed internet and reliable wireless network connectivity to create a new community tech hub. Sponsored by Blackfoot Telephone Cooperative, Inc.
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at El Paso (El Paso)
Awarded $5,000 to the Department of Neurology at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at El Paso to purchase telehealth equipment to provide neurological services in the rural communities of Public Health Region 10 in West Texas. Sponsored by Big Bend Telephone (BBT).
USD 405 Lyons High School (Lyons, KS)
Awarded $1,292 to buy educational programs and equipment for the STEM electronics lab. Sponsored by Mutual Telephone Company.
USD 417 (Council Grove, KS)
Awarded $5,000.00 grant to purchase a Smart Board for the elementary school, to aid in the instruction of students, increasing efficiencies, promoting student’s technology skills, improving collaborative learning skills, and expanding educational opportunities. Sponsored by Tri-County Telephone Association, Inc.
Valley View ISD (Valley View, TX)
Awarded $3,146 to equip a local, small, economically disadvantaged school district with 69 microphone-enabled web cameras to assist all classrooms with the new hybrid platform of in-person and remote education. Sponsored by Nortex Communications.
Van Buren County High School Media Club (Spencer, TN)
Awarded $5,000 for expansion of the media program, including new equipment to expand filming and local station broadcasting of more high, middle and elementary school events. Sponsored by Ben Lomand Connect.
Wahkiakum Fire District # 3 (Rosburg, WA)
Awarded $4,797 to purchase three Infrared Wi-Fi enabled cameras to be used for technologically advanced fire detection and search and rescue emergencies. Sponsored by Western Wahkiakum County Telephone Co.
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The Foundation for Rural Service (FRS), the philanthropic arm of NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association and its members, seeks to sustain and enhance the quality of life in rural America by advancing an understanding of rural issues. Through scholarships, grants, and a variety of educational programs, FRS focuses on educating rural youth, encouraging community development and introducing policymakers to challenges unique to rural communities. Visit us at www.frs.org.
NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association is the premier association representing nearly 850 independent, community-based telecommunications companies that are leading innovation in rural and small-town America. In an era of transformative technological advancements, regulatory challenges and marketplace competition, NTCA members are leading the technological evolution for rural consumers, delivering robust and high-quality services over future-proof networks that make rural communities vibrant places in which to live and do business. Because of their efforts, rural America is fertile ground for innovation in economic development, e-commerce, health care, agriculture and education, and it contributes billions of dollars to the U.S. economy each year. Visit us at www.ntca.org.