KERRVILLE— The Cailloux Foundation announced that $204,500 in grants have been awarded during the fourth quarter of 2004. The awards range in size from $11,500 to $45,000.

 A grant of $45,000 was awarded to the Girl Scouts of San Antonio Area (GSSA) for capital improvements to Camp La Jita in 2005. The organization was established in 1924 in San Antonio and currently serves 19,000 girls in Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Frio, Kendall, Kerr, Medina and Wilson Counties. The Camp, 237 acres of prime Hill Country property, is on the Sabinal River south of Utopia, Texas. It is utilized during the summer for resident camping, and throughout the year for troop and service unit camp outs, and training sessions.  The grant will fund the repair of an aging 5,200 square foot swimming pool and will refurbish one of the dormitory style campsites. Last year 210 girls from Bandera County and 153 girls from Kerr County attended Camp La Jita.

 The Foundation will provide a $40,000 grant to the Hill Country District Junior Livestock Show in Kerrville, Texas. These funds will be used to augment sales at the 2005 stock sale. The 2005 event will be the 61^st show for the organization. More than 1,000 young people from Kerr and 30 additional counties participated in the annual stock show and sale in 2004. The Hill Country District Junior Livestock Show is an all-volunteer organization. The livestock auction total is expected to be $500,000 in 2005.

A grant of $30,000 was awarded to the Hill Country Council on Alcohol & Drug Abuse (HCCADA) in Kerrville to provide operating support. Individuals involved in a community substance abuse coalition organized HCCADA in 1991 with funds from the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (TCADA). The purpose of HCCADA is to provide intervention, prevention and education with regard to substance abuse for adults and children in a five-county area including Bandera, Gillespie, Kendall, Kerr and Medina Counties. The organization experienced a major funding reduction from the TCADA earlier in the year. 

A $25,000 grant was awarded to Hill Country College Fund (HCCF) for scholarship and scholarship endowment support at Kerrville’s Schreiner University. The major portion of the grant will be used for scholarship awards in 2005 and 20% will go into the HCCF Endowment Fund. 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 842 men and women are enrolled at the University. Approximately 33% of the student population directly benefit from the HCCF each year.

Families & Literacy in Kerrville was awarded a $20,000 grant for operating support in 2005. 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 620 disadvantaged adults and teenagers in Kerr County annually. Class instruction is provided by 39 volunteers and seven professional facilitators who contribute in excess of 2,800 volunteer hours each year. 

A grant for $18,000 was awarded to Sunlight Outreach as operating support for their counseling center serving low-income families in Fredericksburg, Texas. The group opened the counseling office at the Good Samaritan Center and is currently providing free and sliding scale counseling services there. Bilingual services will be offered to meet the needs of the Hispanic population. The organization began operations with one paid staff member and ten volunteers. They anticipate serving 300 people in the first year of operation. 

The Foundation will provide a $15,000 grant to Playhouse 2000 (P2K) in Kerrville for youth programs in 2005. This program will allow many children the benefit of exposure to the performing arts and the creative process to help them learn discipline, team-work, and positive self-expression. The grant will provide tuition assistance for theater classes and free tickets for performances to many disadvantaged children. A special event will be scheduled for area fifth and sixth graders for the purpose of generating interest in the performing arts. The organization will schedule a concert for area middle school students as an introduction to classical music. More than 2,000 children will participate from area schools, nonprofit organizations, and group foster homes. 

The United Way of Kerr County in Kerrville 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 2005. 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.

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