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SkillsUSA Announces New Lowe’s Grants for 2011

October 1st, 2010

Lowe's Toolbox for Education LogoSkillsUSA is pleased to announce a continuing partnership with Lowe’s. As part of their overall grant to SkillsUSA, Lowe’s will be awarding grants to local chapters of up to $10,000 each for community service projects or campus improvement projects conducted during 2011.

Schools can apply for grants as a whole school, or as an individual training program. Schools may also team up with another SkillsUSA chapter at a different school on a larger project.

There are three grant categories:

  • Community Service Grants to improve an aspect of your local community
  • Campus Improvement Grants to enhance your school campus or technical lab
  • CareerSafe Online training vouchers to promote safety among technical students

To see projects that have been successfully funded over the past several years, visit the Lowe’s Web page (link below) for project summaries. Lowe’s will be reviewing the top applications as selected by a SkillsUSA staff committee and selecting the schools to receive the funds.

Grant applications must be submitted by December 1, 2010. Notification of successful applicants will be in February 2011. Projects may be done during the spring or fall semesters in 2011 and must be completed by November 30, 2011.

If you have questions on the program, please contact Lowe’s grants manager Carol Lowery at 641-512-0504 or clowery@skillsusa.org

For more information and to reach the online application, go to:
www.skillsusa.org/educators/lowes.shtml.

Highlights

April 1st, 2010
  • The final membership count won’t be official until April, but as of March 24, we have already exceeded last year’s total paid membership by 4,800 members! That means SkillsUSA will have another record-breaking membership year. Congratulations and thanks to all of the state association directors for making this possible.
  • National staff is definitely on the road visiting the states. I just mentioned my recent visits to Georgia and Wyoming. Other staff members have recently visited – or will soon visit – Vermont, Texas, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Arizona, California, Missouri, Florida and North Dakota. Every visit is a joy.
  • And, finally, I’d like to conclude with 12 highlights from the FY10 second quarter shared with the board last week:

Lowe’s Community Service and Campus Improvement Grants Announced

March 1st, 2010

The 2010 SkillsUSA and Lowe’s community service and campus improvement grants were recently announced. Congratulations to all successful applicants.

Community Service: Alabama – Muscle Shoals Center for Technology; Arkansas – Har-Ber High School; Colorado – Florence High School; Indiana – Four County Area Vocational Cooperative; Kansas – Broadmoor Technical School; Kentucky – Sullivan College of Technology and Design; Missouri – Current River Career Center; Nebraska – Metropolitan Community College; New Jersey – John Dwyer Technology Academy; New Mexico – New Mexico State University Grants; North Carolina – NF Woods Advanced Technology and Arts Center; Oklahoma – Kiamichi Technology Center Poteau; Tennessee – Tennessee Technology Center Dickenson, Tennessee Technology Center Huntsville, Tennessee Technology Center Tri County Extension Campus; Texas – St. Phillip’s College SWC Campus; Virginia – Rockbridge County High School.

Campus Improvement: Alabama – Enterprise High School; Arizona – Yuma High School; California – Abram Friedman Occupational Center, Ramona High School, San Bernadino Valley College; Georgia – DeKalb High School of Technology South; Kansas – Coffeyville Community College; Maine – Lewiston Regional Technical Center; Minnesota – Dakota County Technical College; Missouri – Grand River Technical School; North Carolina – Pine Forest High School; Ohio – Cuyahoga Valley Career Center; Oklahoma – Wes Watkins Technology Center; Pennsylvania – Huntington County Career and Technology Center; Tennessee – Tennessee Technology Center Hohenwald; Virginia – Massanutten Technology Center, Dickenson County Career Center.

Highlights

December 15th, 2009
  • On Wednesday, December 9, several staff members rolled up their sleeves and put on their reading glasses to help review the hundreds of Lowe’s and State Farm grant applications for community and campus improvements and sustainability projects. Finalist selections were sent to Lowe’s and State Farm last Thursday. We’re looking forward to announcing the grants in January (State Farm) and February (Lowe’s).
  • Thanks to board members Curtis Barnett, Moe Broom, John Gaal and Larry Rabalais who joined a conference call to work on NLSC hotel lottery issues on December 10. Also on December 10, we had an all day meeting with intelitek to discuss marketing strategy for the Skill Connect assessments. Board member Greg Rintala flew in to be a part of the meeting.
  • As I mentioned previously, Jackie Parker of Newell Rubbermaid worked with our Inclusion and Diversity Committee at the end of November. Due to that work, the committee has created a new statement on inclusion and diversity for SkillsUSA: “In keeping with a tradition of respect for the individuality of our members and our role in work force development, SkillsUSA strives to ensure inclusive participation in all of our programs, partnerships and employment opportunities.”
  • Staff attended the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals Conference in Chicago, December 7-9, to exhibit the Work Force Ready System. More than 600 people attended – an increase from last year – with representatives from 33 states and 2 territories. This was our first time at this conference for the people who run programs such as Job Corps. They report they had quality conversations with some strong potential leads.
  • Staff attended the Georgia Fall Leadership Conference for Postsecondary in Atlanta in late November. It was reported that 600 people attended, half of them SkillsUSA members, and that Cassie Palmer did a great job managing the conference. Staff also said that because Commissioner Jackson was so impressed by our national conference in Kansas City this year she’s endorsed SkillsUSA in Georgia and is promoting SkillsUSA membership in the colleges.
  • This coming March, SkillsUSA will be helping Skills Canada to conduct its first leadership institute to mirror what we do in leadership training at the national conference. This is coming about in part at the request of Lowe’s which is supporting Skills Canada and would like the association to move beyond only contests in its program.
  • Staff reports that sales are up for the revised levels one and two of the Professional Development Program Online “and usage is way up.”
  • And, all the updated computers are installed (so staff using PCs are happier about that), warmer weather and programmable thermostats are making a positive change in our heating bills (and staff is warm and happy about that), and on Friday we went to Mount Vernon for our annual SkillsUSA Holiday Celebration. It was cold, but we were all together and honored several staff members for their service, so staff is happy about that too.

SkillsUSA Announces New Lowe’s Grants for 2010

October 15th, 2009
SkillsUSA is pleased to announce a continuing partnership with Lowes. As part of their overall grant to SkillsUSA, Lowe’s will be awarding grants to local chapters of up to $10,000 each for community service projects or campus improvement projects conducted during 2010.
Schools can apply for grants as a whole school, or as an individual training program. Schools may also team up with another SkillsUSA chapter at a different school on a larger project.
There are four grant categories:
• Community Service Grants to improve an aspect of your local community
• Campus Improvement Grants to enhance your school campus or technical lab
• CareerSafe Online training vouchers to promote safety among technical students
• Sed de Saber Grants to teach English to Hispanic students and their families
To see projects that have been successfully funded over the past several years, visit the Lowe’s Web page for project summaries. Lowe’s will be reviewing the top applications as selected by a SkillsUSA staff committee and selecting the schools to receive the funds.
Grant applications must be submitted by December 1, 2009. Notification of successful applicants will be in February 2010. Projects may be done during the spring semester 2010 or in the fall semester 2010 and must be completed by November 30, 2010.
If you have questions on the program, please contact Lowe’s grants manager Kelly Horton at 402-309-4679 or e-mail: khorton@skillsusa.org.
To apply, schools should complete an application and submit it online, as a PDF document with electronic attachments or by mail. Electronic applications are preferred. Schools should be sure to save a copy of the application for future reference.
For more information and to reach the online application, go to:
www.skillsusa.org/educators/lowes.shtml

SkillsUSA is pleased to announce a continuing partnership with Lowes. As part of their overall grant to SkillsUSA, Lowe’s will be awarding grants to local chapters of up to $10,000 each for community service projects or campus improvement projects conducted during 2010.

Schools can apply for grants as a whole school, or as an individual training program. Schools may also team up with another SkillsUSA chapter at a different school on a larger project.

There are four grant categories:

  • Community Service Grants to improve an aspect of your local community
  • Campus Improvement Grants to enhance your school campus or technical lab
  • CareerSafe Online training vouchers to promote safety among technical students
  • Sed de Saber Grants to teach English to Hispanic students and their families

To see projects that have been successfully funded over the past several years, visit the Lowe’s Web page for project summaries. Lowe’s will be reviewing the top applications as selected by a SkillsUSA staff committee and selecting the schools to receive the funds.

Grant applications must be submitted by December 1, 2009. Notification of successful applicants will be in February 2010. Projects may be done during the spring semester 2010 or in the fall semester 2010 and must be completed by November 30, 2010.

If you have questions on the program, please contact Lowe’s grants manager Kelly Horton at 402-309-4679 or e-mail: khorton@skillsusa.org.

To apply, schools should complete an application and submit it online, as a PDF document with electronic attachments or by mail. Electronic applications are preferred. Schools should be sure to save a copy of the application for future reference.

For more information and to reach the online application, go to: www.skillsusa.org/educators/lowes.shtml.

Highlights

January 1st, 2009
  • SkillsUSA publications were recognized for excellence by Association TRENDS Magazine. Out of over 300 entries, SkillsUSA Champions took silver in quarterly magazines “What is SkillsUSA?” took gold in the informational CD or video category and the revised Professional Development Program took gold in the educational program category.
  • On December 10, staff and I visited with the Kansas City Convention and Visitors Association (KCCVA) and with Hartsook, our fund-raising consultants, in Kansas City. Much of our meeting was dedicated to the fund-raising campaign for 2009. We talked about broadening fund raising to a larger area than just Kansas City. The KCCVA is optimistic about new hotels downtown being under construction during the next five years. And, SkillsUSA plans to hold a meeting in January with I-Build, a construction competition for middle-school students that is gaining popularity in Kansas City. Perhaps there are some areas of synergy.
  • The Lowe’s grant applications are in for community service and campus improvement projects and staff is busy reviewing all of them to select the finalists. Staff reports there are some good-looking proposals.
  • On December 12, we held our annual holiday celebration and staff recognition event with a trip to Washington, D.C. We visited the National Christmas Tree and the National Botanical Garden and then went to marvel at the newly remodeled and just reopened Smithsonian American History Museum. After lunch in D.C. we climbed aboard the motor coach and headed back to the national office to recognize our wonderful staff. It was a great day.