Alcoa Foundation has awarded 10 grants totaling $380,000 to non-profit organizations in Blount, Knox and Sevier counties to further STEM education and workforce development programs throughout the region.

Alcoa’s Community Advisory Board – a group of business, community and government leaders – is responsible for evaluating and making recommendations to Alcoa Tennessee Operations and Alcoa Foundation on which projects should be funded.

This year’s grant-selection focused on programs in the areas of education and future workforce – which includes workforce development, STEM education and job readiness.

“As new companies move into East Tennessee and existing manufacturing companies expand, we recognize the ever-growing need for workforce development programs and more awareness of advanced manufacturing and STEM-related careers,” said Christy Newman, Alcoa Tennessee Operations Community Relations Manager.

Pellissippi State Community College (PSCC) Foundation was awarded a $100,000 grant for its Pathways in Careers in Automated Manufacturing program. The program seeks to create a clear career pathway for Blount County students, who are dual enrolled at PSCC, to prepare these students to apply for jobs as electrical and mechanical engineering technicians.

“This grant from Alcoa Foundation will be used to purchase textbooks and advanced programmable logic controllers, which are computers used for industrial automation processes,” said Pellissippi State President L. Anthony Wise Jr. “The new equipment will be used by students enrolled in the Automated Industrial Systems and Industrial Maintenance Technology concentrations at Pellissippi State.”

The 2016 Alcoa Foundation grant recipients and dollar amounts are:
 Adult Education Foundation of Blount County $18,000
 Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley $30,000
 Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park $25,000
 Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont $50,000
 Ijams Nature Center $22,000
 Knoxville Area Urban League $40,000
 Maryville College $50,000
 Pellissippi State Community College Foundation $100,000
 Richard Williams Leadership Development Academy $20,000
 USFIRST Robotics $25,000

About Alcoa Foundation
Alcoa Foundation is one of the largest corporate foundations in the U.S., with assets of approximately $480 million. Founded 64 years ago, Alcoa Foundation has invested more than $635 million in communities worldwide. In 2015, 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 2015, 47 percent of Alcoa employees took part in 1,000 events across 24 countries, benefiting more than 300,000 people and 400 nonprofit organizations. For more information, visit alcoafoundation.com and follow @AlcoaFoundation on Twitter.