NOVEMBER 27, 2002

KERRVILLE— The Cailloux Foundation announced that $441,800 in grants have been awarded during the fourth quarter of 2002. The awards range in size from $5,000 to $270,000.

 Christian Assistance Ministry (CAM) of Kerrville, Texas was awarded $270,000 to purchase and renovate a building that will serve as their headquarters for administration and program services. CAM was created in 1987 to help people in need. It is an ecumenical cooperative effort among Kerr County churches. The organization served more than 9,000 people in 2001. They provide food, clothing, school supplies, and limited financial assistance to the disadvantaged. CAM has no paid staff. More than 80 volunteers from 26 member churches run the organization. The new location will provide more space for existing services.

 “It would not be news to anyone to hear that there are people in Kerr County that live on the edge of poverty. What might be surprising are how many underemployed folks working in low paying jobs, single parents struggling to pay for day care costs, and elderly poor there really are here,” said Cailloux Foundation Program Director Betty Vernon. “CAM expects to provide services for more than 10,000 people in 2002 and the Foundation is pleased to help them with this much needed expansion,” she added.

 The Foundation provided a $37,100 award to the YMCA of San Antonio & the Hill Country for Camp Flaming Arrow in Hunt, Texas. The grant is to repair a flood-damaged roadway that provides one of only two ways to connect program and sleeping areas to the front section of the Camp. The Camp was established in 1927 and provides year-round programs that help develop commitment to learning, social competencies, and positive values. More than 2,100 children attended summer camp and outdoor educational programs last year. Disadvantaged children received reduced fees for these programs.  

The Foundation provided a $25,000 grant to the Hill Country District Junior Livestock Show in Kerrville. These funds will be used to augment sales at the 2003 stock sale. Young people from Kerr and 30 additional counties participate in the annual stock show and sale. The Hill Country District Junior Livestock Show is an all-volunteer organization and has provided services to area youth for 60 years.

 A $25,000 grant was awarded to Hill Country College Fund (HCCF) at Kerrville’s Schreiner University. Schreiner University is a four-year private liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church. The University was established in 1917. The HCCF provides need-based financial assistance for residents of seven Hill Country Counties including Kerr, Bandera, Kendall, Gillespie, Kimble, Edwards, and Real. Currently 780 men and women are enrolled at the University. Approximately 25% of the student population directly benefit from the HCCF each year.

 The Boys & Girls Club of Bandera, Texas received $20,000 for operating expenses. The organization was incorporated in 1994 and became affiliated with the Boys & Girls Club in 2001. They completed a covered pavilion and a large building last year. The new building sustained damage last summer when the Medina River overflowed its banks. Floodwaters rose to seven feet inside the building ruining the kitchen. The flooding caused the organization to postpone its annual fund raising event and the grant will help replace those funds.

 Families & Literacy in Kerrville was awarded a $20,000 grant for operating support during its second year of independent operation. Families & Literacy provides classes in parenting education, adult literacy, adult basic education, pre-GED instruction, English as a second language, citizenship, and workforce development to disadvantaged adults and teenagers in Kerr County.

The Hill Country Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (HCCADA) was awarded an $18,200 grant to provide an educational program for at-risk children attending Ingram’s Tom Moore High School in Ingram, Texas. The program, called Reconnecting Youth, was developed to engage students in workable alternatives to substance abuse and destructive behaviors. HCCADA has been in existence since 1991. They offer programs to combat alcohol and drug abuse in Kerr and surrounding counties.  

The American Cancer Society (ACS) was awarded $10,000 to help provide information, volunteer services, educational materials, and products such as wheelchairs, hospital beds, colostomy supplies, prostheses, and wigs, for patients in need in the Kerrville area. Programs such as The Great American Smokeout and Breast Health Awareness are provided by the ACS.  

The United Way of Kerr County was awarded a grant for $11,500 as part of their current fund drive, which will provide operating support to 23 nonprofit agencies in Kerr County in 2003. This year’s goal is $230,000. Many of these 23 agencies have a long history of service in Kerr County and nationally through their parent organizations.

 A $5,000 award provided transportation for students and teachers to attend the Texas Heritage Music Foundation’s Living History Day. It also helped provide educational support packages and artists performances in the classroom. The one-day history event, now in its seventh year, was held September 27, at Louise Hays Park in Kerrville. The Foundation was established in 1987 to preserve and perpetuate traditions in Texas Music.  

 Floyd A. and Kathleen C. Cailloux created The Cailloux Foundation in 1994. The Foundation’s mission is to perpetuate their vision through the betterment of individual lives, with emphasis on the needs of disadvantaged children. Mr. Cailloux was co-founder of Keystone International and was instrumental in the company becoming a leader in the manufacturing and marketing of industrial valves for general industry. In 1981, Mr. and Mrs. Cailloux moved from Houston to Kerrville, Texas where they became very involved in charitable endeavors in the Texas Hill Country and around the state. The Foundation continues these endeavors by quietly awarding grants to eligible nonprofit organizations mainly in the Hill Country.

 The application process for the Foundation consists of an initial letter of inquiry from a nonprofit organization to help Foundation staff determine if a project fits within its guidelines. If a project does fit the guidelines, a full grant application is provided for the agency to complete. Please read the application process section on this site for more information regarding inquiries to the Foundation. n