December 16, 2003

KERRVILLE—The Cailloux Foundation announced that $1,912,500 in grants have been awarded during the fourth quarter of 2003. The awards range in size from $7,000 to $1,350,000.

 The Salvation Army of Kerrville, Texas was awarded $1,350,000 over three years to assist with the construction of a new community and neighborhood youth activity center. The Salvation Army has been in operation in Kerrville since the 1960’s providing many services including a shelter for homeless individuals, disaster relief services, after-school programs, and a dental clinic. The organization serves more than 20,000 people in Kerr County annually. The new center will be situated next to the existing Salvation Army buildings. This center will provide a safe place with structured activities and sports for disadvantaged youth, and other programs of the Salvation Army. A portion of the award will be utilized to create a permanent endowment restricted to the upkeep of the new buildings.

 The Foundation provided $260,000 to the Dietert Senior Center in Kerrville. This award is for preliminary site surveys, architectural services, engineering services, and consulting services for a construction manager as they begin a capital campaign for a new 26,000 square foot senior center in Kerrville. The organization was created in 1969 as a community center for senior citizens and today provides 38,000 “meals on wheels” to elderly shut-ins and 20,000 hot lunches to seniors at the center’s dining hall annually. The Independent Living Program assists more than 100 seniors with information and referral services. Respite programs provide assistance to family care givers. This organization is the only one of its type providing services to improve the lives of disadvantaged elderly citizens.

 A grant of $100,000 was awarded to the Laity Renewal Foundation in Kerrville to help increase the number of disadvantaged youth groups using their free camps near Leakey, Texas. In 1954, the H-E-B Foundation purchased 1,900 acres near Leakey and has, over the years, established a number of camps and lodges for the purpose of providing a spiritual outdoor experience to children and adults. The free camps provide recreational facilities for community service organizations, churches, schools, and nonprofit organizations. More than 20,000 people from 300 church and community service groups used the free camps last year. The grant will provide support for a two-year project to target specific low-income youth groups offering operational assistance, program advice, food, transportation, and other costs associated with a camp group visit to raise the percentage of disadvantaged youth participating in the free camp program to 75%.

 The Foundation provided a $40,000 grant to the Hill Country District Junior Livestock Show in Kerrville. These funds will be used to augment sales at the 2004 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) for scholarship and scholarship endowment support at Kerrville’s Schreiner University. The University is a four-year private liberal arts college established in 1917 and affiliated with the Presbyterian Church. 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.

 A $23,000 grant was made to the Raphael Community Free Clinic in Kerrville to help fund their Children’s Diversified Fund. This fund will help families losing Medicaid and CHIPs benefits as a result of recent State budget cuts. The Clinic expects to see more mothers and babies in the near future. The grant will help pay for a bilingual educational program on parenting, and child safety. The Clinic was established in 1997 to provide health care for uninsured and underinsured people who are not eligible for Medicaid with special programs for diabetics and individuals with Hepatitis C. Approximately 90 medical and other professionals volunteer their time to the organization to help an average of 120 patients per week.

 Families & Literacy in Kerrville was awarded a $20,000 grant for operating support during its third 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 more than 600 disadvantaged adults and teenagers in Kerr County annually.

 KLRN,  the Public Broadcasting Service member in San Antonio, Texas was awarded $20,000 to facilitate the adoption of new broadcast technology in the Hill Country through an engineering and logistical study, and fees associated with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) application. The study will determine the best method of overcoming problems caused by the area’s elevated terrain to extend digital service to this area. The FCC has mandated that all television stations convert to digital operations. The analog broadcast system will be phased out as more households become capable of receiving digital service.

 The Foundation awarded $18,000 to the Christian Women’s Job Corp of Kerrville as operating support to help fund their 12-week job training program for women in poverty. These women are usually welfare recipients and single parents with little education and few job skills. The Corp provides training in the use of computers, job skills, life skills, and Bible study. The organization was founded in 1999 in Kerrville and it operates with one paid staff person and 50 volunteers.

 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 24 nonprofit agencies in Kerr County in 2004. This year’s goal is $230,000. Many of these 24 agencies have a long history of service in Kerr County and nationally through their parent organizations.

 A $7,000 grant was awarded to the YMCA of San Antonio and the Texas Hill Country to help replace a 15-passenger van for the Kerr County YMCA that was stolen and destroyed earlier this year. The local YMCA provided youth sports programs, after school programs, and child care for 1,600 children in the area.

 A $38,000 award was granted anonymously to a nonprofit organization.

 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