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Now in its 20th year, the 3Ts of Education program helps fund local K-12 schools in technology, textbooks and teacher training in the communities where our employees live and work.

20 years. $7.7 million.

These are the headline-grabbing numbers behind ����Ӱҵ’s 3Ts of Education program, which helps fund local K-12 schools in the areas of technology, textbooks and teacher training. Developed in 1998, the 3Ts of Education program contributes funds to K-12 schools where there are concentrations of children or grandchildren of ����Ӱҵ employees.

To date, more than $7.7 million in 3Ts grants has been contributed by the Foundation to hundreds of schools across the nation.

“This is an effort where we can have a direct impact on the lives of our employees and their families,”  said Tennyson Oyler, President of the ����Ӱҵ Foundation. “We can’t get more local than helping buy computers or textbooks at a school where ����Ӱҵ families attend.”

For the 2017-2018 school year, $534,500 in 3T grants was distributed to 147 schools this past Spring.

By the Numbers

• Total Grants Given: $534,500 to 147 schools
  • $29,000 given to 11 schools in Omaha, NE
  • $50,500 given to 16 schools in Lynchburg, VA
• Technology: $370,585 (69%)
• Textbooks: $34,830 (7%)
• Training: $129,085 (24%)

“It is an honor and a privilege to work for a company that prides itself in giving back to local schools,” said DeAnne Reed, AVP of Servicing Operations in Corporate.  “I so enjoyed being a part of the 3Ts of Education check delivery process at my daughters’ schools this year, as it was gratifying to see how gracious the recipients are.”

While she has daughters at two different schools and each used the Foundation funds for different initiatives –replacing aging laptops for the teaching staff and sending teachers to Advanced Placement Summer Institute Professional Development Workshops – the spirit of receiving funds to better education stood true at both schools, she added.

“These schools could help buy technology and send their teachers to AP, or advanced placement, training with Foundation dollars, which may not have been possible without these funds. This warms my heart.” —  DeAnne Reed

The 3Ts program relies on employees completing a brief online school survey each September, nominating their kids or grandkids’ schools for a grant. A school is eligible for a $3,000 grant if it is determined from the survey that three children from two different families attend the school, and that grant increases by $500 for every additional child at the school. If a school does not meet this criterion it is entered in a drawing for a $1,500 grant.

Steve Chesterman, AVP of External Communications, helped present the 3Ts of Education check to his daughter’s school for the second year in a row. He said it’s incredibly generous that the ����Ӱҵ Foundation supports employees’ children through the 3Ts program, and that it truly creates a sense of pride to work for this company.

This year’s grant money will allow the school to expand its new “Femineers’ Club” – designed to empower girls in STEM education – with the purchase of additional equipment for students to build wearable technology.

“Having one daughter currently at the school, and another scheduled to start this fall, it’s important to me that the school has programs aimed at inspiring young girls to get excited about math, science and technology,” Steve said.

Linnea Weisbach, Senior Reinsurance Contract Analyst, Life Insurance Division, said when her family moved to Omaha nine years ago, they specifically chose to live in her school district because of its strong academics and the small community feel. Linnea’s daughter is now a junior in high school and the family has a foreign exchange student from the Netherlands living with them for seven months during this school year.

“The high school has been a place for my daughter to learn, grow, and get involved in community efforts. The school very much appreciated the donation from the ����Ӱҵ Foundation and will be using the money to support their teacher education initiatives. They were very thankful for the support and will use the money wisely.” —  Linnea Weisbach