Alabama Power Foundation has extended the deadline for its Power To Play grant program by one week. Power To Play is in its second year of helping increase high school athletics participation.

Power To Play will award 36 grants of $2,500 each to schools throughout the state to help fund their athletic programs.

Studies prove that students who participate in athletics perform better in the classroom and are more likely to graduate from high school, among other benefits.

Public high schools that have 55 percent or more of their students who are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches can compete for Power To Play grants.

Power To Play grant applications are available online until Oct. 4. Grant finalists will be announced Oct. 19 when they advance to the voting round of the competition. This online voting gives community members a chance to support their school. Winners will be announced Nov. 23.

“It is exciting to see a community rally around a good cause,” said John Hudson, president of the Alabama Power Foundation. “Power To Play gives communities all across the state the opportunity to do just that, to get out and show their support for something that is important to their kids. That’s a powerful thing.”

To learn more or to apply for a Power To Play grant, please visit www.powerofgood.com. You can also follow the program on social media by liking Power To Play on Facebook, following @PowerToPlay on Twitter or Instagram or by searching the program’s hashtag: #PowerToPlayAL.

Since the Alabama Power Foundation’s creation in 1989 with funds donated by shareholders, it has provided support to Alabama communities, educational institutions and nonprofits with non-ratepayer money through more than 20,000 grants and scholarships.