News Release > More than $1 million grants announced by Entergy Charitable Foundation, including funding for the JASON Alliance of Southeast Texas

More than $1 million grants announced by Entergy Charitable Foundation, including funding for the JASON Alliance of Southeast Texas

01/24/2018

BEAUMONT, Texas – Support from the Entergy Charitable Foundation has helped the JASON Alliance at Lamar University engage thousands of Southeast Texas students in fun and educational activities that foster their interest in science, technology, engineering and math fields.

Now Entergy is announcing $1.1 million of new Entergy Charitable Foundation grant awards, provided to community improvement partners in states where the company operates. The new awards bring the program’s total 2017 contributions to $2.4 million. A list of new recipients can be viewed here. The grant program is just one of several administered by Entergy. The company annually contributes about $16 million to almost 3,000 nonprofits in communities where Entergy operates.

The Entergy Charitable Foundation is just one of a variety of Entergy programs that support nonprofits in local communities. In total, Entergy Corporation supports more than 2,200 nonprofits annually with charitable contributions of approximately $16 million.

For the JASON Alliance of Southeast Texas, the partnership allows 4th-grade through 8^th-grade students to virtually participate in scientific expeditions. The JASON Project was created by Dr. Robert Ballard in 1989 after his discovery of the HMS Titanic. Entergy has provided grant support to the Texas program since its inception, making it possible for more than 20,000 students and 200 science teachers to participate annually in a variety of hands-on learning activities, including events on Lamar University’s campus.

"The JASON Alliance of Southeast Texas thanks Entergy for its continuing support, which has helped us to provide scientific education outreach to thousands of Southeast Texas students," said Dr. Jim Westgate, university professor of Earth and Space Sciences at Lamar University and JASON Alliance science advisor. "Over the last 17 years, Lamar University has welcomed more than 125,000 students to our on-campus events to engage in a variety of activities that make learning about science fun, challenging and relevant to their futures.”

“Investing in education is one of the most important ways We Power Life and brighten futures in our communities,” said Vernon Pierce, vice president of customer service for Entergy Texas, Inc. “By making science fun and engaging, the JASON Project opens new worlds of discovery for students and encourages them to pursue careers in STEM fields that will benefit workforce recruitment efforts in the future.”

Entergy Charitable Foundation grants are awarded twice a year. In Texas, more than $257,000 was awarded to Texas nonprofits through the Entergy Charitable Foundation in 2017. Applications for the foundation’s next grant award cycle can be submitted at “Our Community” at entergy.com through Feb. 1, 2018.

Entergy Texas, Inc. provides electricity to more than 450,000 customers in 27 counties and is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation. Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, including nearly 9,000 megawatts of nuclear power. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.9 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of approximately $10.8 billion and nearly 13,000 employees.