KERRVILLE—The Floyd A. and Kathleen C. Cailloux Foundation (the Foundation) announced that grants and scholarship awards totaling approximately $2,800,000 were approved or completed during 2006.

 The grants to nonprofits range in size from $4,000 to $640,000. Awards approved in 2006 by the Foundation’s Board of Directors went to Any Baby Can, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, Christian Men’s Job Corp, Civil Air Patrol- Kerrville Squadron, Families & Literacy, Hill Country Charity Ball Association, Hill Country Arts Foundation, Hill Country CASA, Hill Country Crisis Council, Hill Country Council on Drug and Alcohol Abuse, Hill Country District Junior Livestock Show, Hill Country Youth Orchestra, Ingram Volunteer Fire Department, Kerrville Elderly Residents Enhanced, Kerrville Performing Arts Society, Kerrville Wellness Group, Kerr County Sheriff’s Office, The Museum of Western Art Foundation, Little League Baseball- Kerrville, Our Lady of the Hills Regional Catholic High School, Schreiner University, Symphony of the Hills, Texas Heritage Music Foundation, and Young Life, all in Kerr County, Texas. The Boys & Girls Club of the Texas Hill Country, Fredericksburg Community Health Group, and the Golden Hub Community Center in Fredericksburg, Texas as well as the Baptist Children’s Home Ministries in San Antonio, Texas also received grants. The Cailloux Foundation Scholarship Program gave $594,600 to 45 students from the Texas Hill Country attending accredited universities within the State.

 The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country (CFTHC) was awarded a total of $640,000 toward the purchase of real estate in Kerrville. The CFTHC will lease the improved property to nonprofit organizations including Baptist Children’s Home Ministries and the Christian Women’s Job Corp to provide various educational and social services to the disadvantaged.  

The Foundation awarded an additional $200,000 to Baptist Children’s Home Ministries (BCHM) to create a single site for foster youth transition services in Kerrville. They will provide services to area youth who are already emancipated and help prepare children still in foster care with on-site activities. BCHM is a subsidiary of San Antonio based Baptist Child & Family Services. BCHM currently provides 15 separate programs in Texas including community based foster care; campus based extended care, two emergency shelters, child abuse prevention programs, parenting education, and services to at-risk and delinquent youth. BCHM is the provider of Preparation for Adult Living (PAL) services for all foster care youth living in Texas Department of Health & Human Services’ Region Eight, including Kerr and surrounding counties. This will be the first transition center for foster youth in a “rural” setting in Texas. “The needs of emancipated foster youth have been a special interest for the Foundation,” stated Executive Director Sandy Cailloux, “These young people need the kind of safety net that those from more functional families normally have and we believe that this Center will help provide that for them,” she added.

 The Foundation awarded a challenge grant of up to $200,000 to Our Lady of the Hills Regional Catholic High School (OLH) toward their annual 2006/2007 fund drive. The School has until July, 1, 2007 to match the grant. The funds will be used for operating support. OLH is a private Catholic high school providing a college preparatory education to students from varied social, ethnic, and economic backgrounds. The growing school opened in 2002 on 85 acres east of Kerrville and now has more than 80 students enrolled. It is the only Catholic high school within a 70-mile radius of Kerrville and the only college preparatory school of any type within 50 miles.

 The Golden Hub Community Center in Fredericksburg was awarded a $36,000 capital grant to remodel their kitchen. The Center is a part of the Gillespie County Committee on Aging providing services to senior citizens in Gillespie County. The kitchen remodel will benefit the Center by reducing costly repairs, providing a more sanitary food preparation and serving area, and allowing them to operate more efficiently. They provide more than 23,000 meals for homebound seniors and at the Center’s dining facility each year.

 The Foundation approved a $25,000 grant to The Museum of Western Art Foundation to help fund the Journey West Children's Gallery Educational Outreach Program. The enrichment program provides students an understanding of the history and heritage of the American West, teaches them about the visual arts in general, and allows them an on-site museum experience.

 Hill Country Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) was awarded $25,000 to underwrite a case manager’s salary for one year due to the increase in children needing services. Hill Country CASA was established in 1989 to provide services to children in Kerr, Kendall, Bandera and Gillespie counties. All CASA programs give first priority to abused children who have been removed from their homes and are wards of the State. Trained CASA volunteers are sworn Officers of the Court and are appointed to appropriate cases by the judiciary.  Volunteers conduct interviews, make home and placement visits, monitor cases, and give recommendations to the judiciary. CASA will serve 250 children this year.

 The Foundation made a $10,000 grant for operating support to the Christian Men’s Job Corp (CMJC). The organization was established in 2005 to help disadvantaged men improve their lives. In ten-week sessions a variety of areas including computer use, job skills, personal finances, substance abuse issues, and parenting are addressed. The CMJC operates out of the Doyle School Community Center.

 The Ingram Volunteer Fire Department (IVFD) received a $10,000 award for protective gear for fire fighters. These items are essential in protecting the fire fighters during their attempts to extinguish grass and brush fires. The grant helped replace equipment damaged in fighting the huge fires in Kerr County in 2006. The IVFD is an all volunteer organization.

 The Foundation’s scholarship program, established in 1994, provides up to $12,000 per year for four years to students from public high schools in Bandera, Center Point, Comfort, Fredericksburg, Harper, Ingram, Junction, Kerrville, Leakey, Mason, Medina, Nueces Canyon (Barksdale), Rocksprings, and Utopia. Big Spring Charter School near Leakey and Our Lady of the Hills Catholic High School in Kerrville are also eligible schools. Applicants must have financial need, a minimum 1022 SAT or 22 ACT score, a minimum grade average of 85, and be in the top one-third of their class. Graduating seniors from an eligible school who meet these requirements may apply for a scholarship through the Foundation’s website before the February 1, 2007 deadline. Scholarship Program Administrators of Memphis, TN manages the scholarship program including the selection process.

 Floyd A. and Kathleen C. Cailloux created the Foundation in 1994. 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, where they became very involved in charitable endeavors in the Texas Hill Country and around the state. The Foundation’s mission is to perpetuate the vision of founders Floyd A. and Kathleen C. Cailloux. The Foundation awards grants to nonprofit organizations mainly in the Hill Country. The grant guidelines for the Foundation are available on-line at www.caillouxfoundation.org or through the mail by request. 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. Grantees may complete an a letter of inquiry form from the website. A link to a more in depth on-line application form will be provided for nonprofit organizations when a request is accepted for the second stage of the application process. The Foundation is unable to make awards to individuals or groups that are not classified by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Please read the application process section on this site for more information regarding inquiries to the Foundation. Contact the Foundation at 830-895-5222 for additional information. n