2010 BELIEF Award Winners
Champions of Education is pleased to present its second annual BELIEF Awards (Business Encouraging Leadership by Investing in Education for the Future) at the 6th Annual Education Forum held on Wednesday, March 17, 2010.
Congratulations go to the following three winners:
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City of Hickory
City of Hickory received the BELIEF Award in the Large Business category (500+ employees). Among its efforts to assist schools, the City of Hickory has provided:
- Funding for ESL classes, diversity fairs and the Handicap Awareness Day as a celebration of student diversity in our schools
- Internships to high school students each summer
- Sponsorship of a Youth Council for 9-12 grade students to provide them with an opportunity to learn leadership skills and gain a knowledge of how local government operates
- Employee support for parental involvement in schools and vacation time and generous leave time so parents of
school-age children can participate in school activities and/or parent-teacher conferences - Encouragement for city employees to tutor, mentor and volunteer in schools
- Testimony from the City of Hickory's application: "We strongly support education and believe that an educated workforce enhances the quality of life in our community. We also believe that education is a valuable economic development recruitment tool. Our staff works closely with employers, the Chamber of Commerce and other agencies to determine what the educational needs for our community are and then advocates for those needs to be met."
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Shurtape Technologies
Shurtape Technologies received the BELIEF Award in the Medium Business category (250-499 employees). Among its efforts to assist schools, Shurtape provided:
- Support for our teachers by funding Teaching Scholarships and donating tape to several schools and new teachers
- Funding for student scholarships for children of employees - $3,000 scholarships for 4-year colleges or universities (3) and $1,500 scholarships for 2-year colleges or universities (3)
- Contributions to the Patrick Beaver Learning Resource Center and the Catawba Science Center
- Four hours of paid leave time for employees to attend parent-teacher conferences and additional unpaid leave for other school events
- Recognition of employee volunteers at its Annual Meeting and through the company's newsletter and internal TV communications
- Testimony from Shurtape Technologies' application: "We view our role as a supporter of education as an important one because of our place in the job market. As we continue to work with new technology, so must our employees be encouraged to learn. We stress the importance of education to our employees as they endeavor to increase their knowledge through completion of a GED, specialized trade and/or college courses. We value our employees' willingness to learn by providing them with resources such as Career Readiness Curriculum courses to help with business technology for our industry. We know that in order to keep on the cutting edge of the tape industry, we must be able to provide jobs in the future for those who are students today."
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Pixelspace
Pixelspace received the BELIEF Award in the Small Business category (up to 249 employees). Among its efforts to assist 
schools, Pixelspace:
- Began its involvement with COE as a committee volunteer
- Helped develop a marketing plan for COE
- Created COE web site and its spinoff Education Matters web site
- Created the Education Matters logo and the BELIEF Awards application
