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Alabama Power Foundation awards Power to Play grants
Thirty-six high schools receive $2,500 grants for arts and athletics The Alabama Power Foundation’s Power to Play program has awarded 36 grants to high school arts and athletic programs across the state. Eighteen of those grants will support athletics programs and 18 will support arts programs. Each grant is for $2,500 and will help the schools increase participation in arts and athletics. The grant program, which offered athletics grants in its first two years, expanded its focus this year to include the arts. 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. Involvement in arts and music courses has been linked to higher standardized test scores, improved graduation and attendance rates and fewer disciplinary infractions. "The Power to Play program’s goal has always been to empower students to participate in extracurricular activities," said Myla Calhoun, president of the Alabama Power Foundation. "The addition of arts grants this year helped us reach more students in more programs. We are very excited to fund this diverse group of arts and athletics programs." All of the recipients of the Power to Play grants are public high schools with 50 percent or more of their students eligible for free or reduced-price lunches. Power to Play is part of the Alabama Power Foundation’s Brighter Minds education initiative. To learn more about Power to Play, Brighter Minds and the foundation’s other grant programs, please visit www.powerofgood.com. Since its creation in 1989 with funds donated by shareholders, the Alabama Power Foundation has supported Alabama communities, educational institutions and nonprofits through more than 20,000 grants and scholarships using nonratepayer dollars. The 2016 Power to Play athletics grant recipients are:
The 2016 Power to Play arts grant recipients are:
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