Cox Charities of New Orleans Presents its 2008 Grants

Cox Charities of New Orleans presented 22 grants to nonprofit organizations in Orleans, Jefferson, St. Charles and St. Bernard parishes that work to improve the quality of life for the communities they serve. Cox Charities presented the annual grants at a reception held recently at the Cox New Orleans office.

The grants, which are valued at amounts between $1,250 and $5,000, are presented each year to a variety of nonprofit organizations whose target populations are children between seven and 14 years of age and provide programs beneficial in the area of youth and education.  Due to continuing rebuilding efforts, Cox Charities also awarded funding to area non-profits engaged in restoration and recovery projects.

This year, grants being awarded by Cox Charities totaled $80,000 and included: 

• Animal Rescue New Orleans, Inc.
• A's and Aces
• Boys & Girls Club of Southeast Louisiana
• Common Ground Relief
• Communities In Schools of New Orleans, Inc.
• Desire Street Ministries
• Good Shepherd Nativity Mission School, Inc.
• KID smART Foundation
• Kids Rethink New Orleans' Schools
• The Center for Family and Youth Services, Inc.
• Walk With me Community Improvement Center
• Young Audiences, Inc.
• Louisiana Children's Museum
• Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra
• Louisiana SPCA
• Neighborhoods Partnership Network
• New Orleans Ballet Association
• Operation Reach, Inc.
• Ochsner Clinic Foundation
• Pontilly Association and Disaster Collaborative
• Teaching Responsible Earth Education

"This year marks the second year of Cox Charities and we are very excited to have increased the total amount to $80,000," said Brad Grundmeyer, Director of Government and Public Affairs of Cox New Orleans. "In 2007, we established Cox Charities to help support local programs and organizations that fall through the cracks and are too small to be eligible for the grants provided by the large, national foundations."

Cox New Orleans holds a variety of fundraising events throughout each year to generate funds for Cox Charities. Fundraisers include annual golf tournaments, raffles, promotional benefit events and our yearly Cox Charities campaign. A large portion of Cox Charities funding comes from employee contributions.

More information on Cox Charities can be found at www.coxpluggedin.com.

Presention of grant to Animal Rescue N.O, Inc

Cox Charities of New Orleans 2008 Grant Recipients

Animal Rescue New Orleans, Inc.

ARNO is a grassroots nonprofit volunteer organization dedicated to rescuing animals after Hurricane Katrina.  ARNO also promotes the adoption, foster and reunion of pets with caretakers.  ARNO received a $5,000 grant from Cox Charities to rebuild their shelter which was damaged after Hurricane Gustav.

A's and Aces

A's and Aces is an afterschool tennis program at Langston Hughes Academy.  Tennis serves as the incentive to participate in academic programming and is used as the tool to teach character development.   A's & Aces is a Community Tennis Association member organization of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) and was selected as a project of the Clinton Global Initiative, President Clinton's project "to help turn good intentions into real action and results."  A's and Aces has received $2,500 from Cox Charities to continue its program at Langston Hughes.

Boys & Girls Club of Southeast Louisiana

Boys & Girls Club of Southeast Louisiana has received a $5,000 grant from Cox Charities for their Technological Edge Program.  Boys & Girls Clubs of America's national programs have taken members from the Clubhouse to the White House; from the games room to the corporate boardroom; from the high school orchestra to Carnegie Hall. Boys & Girls Clubs of America has a lineup of tested and proven nationally recognized programs that address today's most pressing youth issues, teaching young people the skills they need to succeed in life.

Common Ground Relief

Common Ground Relief was formed in the first few days following Hurricane Katrina as volunteers from around the country came to New Orleans to aid in the recovery effort. Common Ground Relief continues to be committed to the right to return for New Orleans residents and has always maintained a policy of non-violence while striving for peace and justice. Cox Charities' grant of $5,000 to Common Ground will help continue efforts to restore the wetlands, provide job training, rebuild housing, create community gardens and provide legal and advocacy services for those who need them most.

Communities in Schools of New Orleans, Inc.

Communities In Schools is the nation's largest dropout prevention organization.  The mission of Communities In Schools is to champion the connection of needed community resources with schools to help young people successfully learn, stay in school and prepare for life.  Cox Charities has granted Communities in Schools of New Orleans, Inc. $5,000 to fund the XY Zone Program at Fischer Elementary School.

Desire Street Ministries

DSM's mission is to encourage and equip leaders to transform impoverished neighborhoods through spiritual and community development.  By joining together people from all walks of life who are interested in redeeming the inner-city, DSM believes in marrying together something that represents the bigger Kindom of God -- incarnational leaders who actually move into the neighborhood, indigenous leaders who already live there, and neighbors who "move in" spiritually through prayer, encouragement and financial support.  Cox Charities has granted DSM $5,000 for an afterschool program serving youth in the Ninth Ward.

Good Shepherd Nativity Mission School, Inc.

Opened in 2001 as part of the vision of the late Fr. Harry Tompson, S.J., The Good Shepherd School provides an excellent, tuition-free education in a safe and nurturing environment to at-risk children in New Orleans who are members of families living below the federal poverty level.  The Cox Charities grant of $5,000 will be used for a Saturday enrichment program for students and families.

Jefferson Parish School System

The core business of the Jefferson Parish Public School System, a learning organization, is to design engaging, challenging, and satisfying work for every student, every day.  Cox Charities has granted the Jefferson Parish School System $5,000 for an artist-in-residency program in collaboration with the Ogden Museum of Southern Art.

KID smART Foundation

KID smART's mission is to work with the arts to engage children in learning about themselves and the world in which they live. We strive to teach positive life skills and increase student learning in all subjects by teaching the visual and performing arts. Working with professional arts educators, KID smART presents high quality, intensive arts education through Artist in the Classroom, After School, and Community-based programs.  KID smART has been granted $1,250 for artist-in-the-classroom residencies in New Orleans Public Schools.

Kids Rethink New Orleans' Schools

Kids Rethink New Orleans' Schools is a group of students in New Orleans who want to rethink and rebuild schools after Hurricane Katrina. Their vision is simple: a great education for every kid in our city, no matter the color of their skin, what neighborhood they stay in or how much money their parents make.  Cox Charities has granted Kids Rethink New Orleans' Schools $2,500 for Rethink afterschool programs.

Louisiana Children's Museum

The Louisiana Children's Museum is New Orleans' most playful place to explore, experience and learn.  Cox Charities has granted the Children's Museum $1,250 for literacy and creative writing field trips for third grade RSD students.

Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra

Cox Charities has offered the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra $2,500 to produce young people's concerts in Orleans parish.

Louisiana SPCA

The Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (LA/SPCA) is a private non-profit organization dedicated to the elimination of animal suffering. Chartered in 1888, the LASPCA is the oldest and most comprehensive animal welfare organization in the state, providing care and basic medical services for thousands of homeless and unwanted animals each year.  The LASPCA has been given $5,000 from Cox Charities for their recovery efforts after Hurricane Katrina.

Neighborhoods Partnership Network

The Neighborhoods Partnership Network (NPN) is a nonprofit, 501c3 organization consisting of a citywide network of neighborhoods that was established after the Hurricane Katrina disaster to facilitate neighborhood collaboration, increase access to government and information, and strengthen the voices of individuals and communities across New Orleans.  Cox Charities has granted the NPN $2,500 to build a network of youth advocates through community journalism.

New Orleans Ballet Association

The New Orleans Ballet Association will utilize funds awarded by Cox Charities to support its nationally, award-winning education programs that annually provides more than 2,500 activities for youth through in-school and after-school sites in New Orleans, St. Bernard and Jefferson parishes. The Cox Charities grant of $2,500 will be used for artist fees for free afterschool dance programs for youth.

Operation Reach, Inc.

Operation REACH is a national non-profit community education resource that assists individuals and communities in reaching new heights in their lives and maximizing their full potential through a zeal for lifelong learning.  Operation Reach will use its $5,000 grant from Cox Charities for Home for Homework-an experiential homework program.

Ochsner Clinic Foundation

Ochsner Health System is a non-profit, academic, multi-specialty, healthcare delivery system dedicated to patient care, research and education. The system includes seven hospitals and over 35 health centers located throughout Southeast Louisiana. Ochsner employs more than 600 physicians in 80 medical specialties and subspecialties and more than 300 clinical research trials annually.  The Cox Charities grant of $5,000 will be used to introduce to biotechnology for middle school students.

Pontilly Association and Disaster Collaborative

The Pontilly Association is a 501 c (4) non profit that helps to maintain the character of the Pontchartrain Park and Gentilly Woods communities for more then twenty-five years. The Assocation served as the neighborhood associaton for the Pontchartrain Park and Gentilly Woods communities. The past activities included monthly meetings of area residents to discuss community issues such as housing, crime,airport contral, zoning and to enforce the restrictive covenant. After Katrina the role of the organization expanded to include creating a Planning Collaborative to develop a rebuilding plan for Pontchartrain Park and Gentilly Woods. 

Teaching Responsible Earth Education

Teaching Responsible Earth Education provides New Orleans area school children an innovative series of outdoor and classroom science educational programs that improve student outcomes and are fully integrated with science and language arts classroom curriculum. The Cox Charities grant of $2,500 will support Sunship Earth for low income students.  

The Center for Family and Youth Services, Inc.

The Center, a non-profit organization, will provide services to youth, families and individuals in need of counseling, educational and other growth related services. Our Wraparound Approach is based on the belief that the solution involves each member of the family and is community based.  The process is individualized and strength-focused.  The Cox Charities grant will help support the Center's therapeutic learning labs for children with special needs.

Walk With Me Community Improvement Center

The facility was created to educate, empower and improve the quality of life in low income and/or minority communities.  The Cox Charities grant of $2,500 will help the center implement computer literacry through the Lower Ninth Ward N.O.L.A. Tech Masters Program

Young Audiences, Inc.

Arts for Learning advances the artistic and educational development of youngsters by bringing them together with professional artists of all disciplines to learn, create and participate in the arts.  The Cox Charities grant of $2,500 will be used to support five week media arts residencies at Kate Middleton, Livaudais Middle School and Harriet Tubman.