2009 BELIEF Award Winners
Champions of Education is pleased to present its first annual BELIEF Awards (Businesses Encouraging Leadership by Investing in Education for the Future) at the Annual Membership Meeting of the Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, February 3, 2009.
Congratulations go to the three winners:
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Catawba Valley Medical Center
Catawba Valley Medical Center received the BELIEF award in the Large Business category. Among its efforts to assist schools, CVMC has provided:
- $1.9 million to fund five additional school nurse positions to bring the nurse to student ratio closer to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommendation of one nurse for every 750 students, and other child health initiatives such as Healthy House to address childhood obesity and SafeKIDS;
- A three-year funding commitment to support the operations of COE;
- Funds for the More-at-Four Advancement initiative of COE’s Leaps and Bounds (Pre-School Advancement);
- Incentives to new teachers including low-cost North Carolina Health Certificates as part of their licensure requirements, and referrals to physicians in the CVMC network; and
- Six employees who are serving as Career Coaches for Futures for Kids.
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Piedmont Natural Gas
Piedmont Natural Gas received the BELIEF award in the Medium Business category. Among its efforts to assist schools, Piedmont Natural Gas provided:
- Sponsorship of one of COE’s homegrown teaching scholarships; and
- Incentives to new teachers by waiving security deposits for gas service, which represents $150-$250 out-of-pocket expenses saved for each recipient.
- Sponsorship of Catawba County School's "Energy Art Contest."
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Concept Frames, Inc.
Concept Frames received the BELIEF award in the Small Business category. Among its efforts to assist schools, Concept Frames provided:
- Larger donations than any business its size to the Pre-School Advancement initiative.
To be eligible for a BELIEF award, a business must have demonstrated a significant impact on education in the county by contributing through volunteering in schools; making a financial contribution to one of the schools or school systems in Catawba County; and/or demonstrating advocacy of education issues in the workplace.
