Dell Foundation Awards 2008 ‘Healthy Community’ Grants to 27 Non-Profit Organizations in Four States

ROUND ROCK, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Dell Foundation today announced its “Healthy Community” grants which have been awarded to 27 organizations in four states, Texas, Tennessee, Oklahoma and North Carolina, where significant numbers of Dell employees live and work.

“By supporting community organizations that are collaborating and achieving success in improving health and basic needs, the Dell Foundation’s support helps strengthen the communities where the majority of Dell families live and work”

These two-year, $50,000 grants support innovative and collaborative initiatives that address the health of young people. Addressing basic health and developmental issues is a major focus of the Foundation, which believes this is a prerequisite to the future success of young people in an increasingly digital and globally competitive world.

The grants support a range of programs including:

• activities that help students refrain from the use of alcohol, other drugs and violence;
• enhancing educational achievement and character development; and,
• pre-natal education programs addressing adverse birth outcomes for teens and low-income women.

“By supporting community organizations that are collaborating and achieving success in improving health and basic needs, the Dell Foundation’s support helps strengthen the communities where the majority of Dell families live and work,” said Lisa Huddleson, Executive Director, Dell Foundation.

This year’s grants were awarded to organizations whose applications addressed important dietary, nutritional, educational and access to health care issues, as well as substantiated results that could be achieved, while also fostering collaboration between local organizations to further strengthen community health and wellness. A complete list of grants is attached and also available at http://www.dellfoundation.org.

The Dell Foundation solicits competitive applications from 501 (c)(3) non-profit organizations for a number of partnerships every two years. The next cycle for Healthy Community grant application submission will be announced in 2010.

About Dell

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) listens to customers and delivers innovative technology and services they trust and value. Uniquely enabled by its direct business model, Dell is a leading global systems and services company and No. 34 on the Fortune 500. For more information, visit www.dell.com, or to communicate directly with Dell via a variety of online channels, go to www.dell.com/conversations. To get Dell news direct, visit www.dell.com/RSS.

Dell disclaims any proprietary interest in the marks and names of others.

Descriptions of Health Community Partners in Middle Tennessee

Center for Youth Issues-Nashville/STARS: STARS exists to help students refrain from the use of alcohol, other drugs and violence, and to enhance their educational achievement and character development. Dell underwrites the Student Assistance Program, a prevention and early intervention collaboration with Wilson County schools that provides educational strategies and support to change inappropriate behaviors.

First Steps, Inc.: First Steps educates and cares for infant to kindergarten-aged children with special needs and medical conditions alongside their typically-developing peers in an inclusive environment. Dell supports the Health Promotion Initiative which provides child-specific health training in the pre-school setting for children with disabilities, developmental delays, chronic medical conditions, and at-risk situations.

Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt: The Monroe Carrell Jr. Hospital is responsible for keeping children living in Middle Tennessee communities healthy and safe. Dell support underwrites Live It™ Go for the Red, White and Blue program which focuses on health and fitness education designed to promote healthy behaviors in collaboration with Nashville public schools, the Vanderbilt Schools of Nursing and Sports Medicine, and the Heart and Vascular Institute.

Second Harvest Food Bank-Middle Tennessee: Second Harvest feeds hungry people and works to solve hunger issues in the community. The Dell Foundation funds the Kids Café® Program that provides at-risk children from low-income families with physical and emotional nourishment at Boys & Girls Clubs and other youth agencies.

Descriptions of Health Community Partners in Oklahoma City

Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma: The mission of the Regional Food Bank is to help the charitable community effectively feed people in need. Dell funds underwrite Food 4 Kids that provides food to low-income children over holidays and weekends.

Special Care, Inc.: Dell funds underwrite program supplies for direct care, early childhood education, nutritional food, art and therapy programs for children with special needs and their families. Special Care ensures that children of all abilities achieve a sense of accomplishment and heightened self-worth, works to strengthen families, trains others to care for children with disabilities, and provides an environment where every child can thrive and develop.

Descriptions of Health Community Partners in North Carolina

Family Service of the Piedmont: Family Service of the Piedmont empowers individuals and families to restore hope, achieve stability and thrive through quality support services, advocacy and education. The Dell Foundation funds the Client Fee Assistance Plan to make quality mental health counseling services more accessible and affordable to low-resources children and families.

Second Harvest Food Bank: Dell Foundation Support: funds support the Kids Cafe® programs at nine sites including the YMCA, Boys & Girls Clubs and The Salvation Army. The mission of the Second Harvest Food Bank is to reduce hunger and malnutrition in northwest North Carolina. The agency works to acquire and distribute food through other organizations and to educate the public about hunger.

Descriptions of Health Community Partners in Central Texas

Any Baby Can: The mission of Any Baby Can is to ensure that children reach their potential through education, therapy, and family support services. Dell supports the Prenatal Education Program that serves pregnant and parenting teens with case management and prenatal education.

The Arc of the Capital Area: The Arc of the Capital Area promotes independence and choice by providing individualized services to adults and children with developmental disabilities. Dell underwrites Family and Caregiver Support Services that provides parent mentoring and advocacy, specialized respite care, support groups, educational workshops, academic coaching and guardianship services for parents and caregivers.

Austin Child Guidance Center: Austin Child Guidance works to improve the mental health of children and their families through early intervention, diagnosis, and treatment to help them develop the emotional skills for meeting life’s challenges. Dell funds the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Project that seeks to improve quality of care to infants and children with mental health concerns in preschool and childcare settings, and trains graduate students in infant and early childhood mental health issues.

Capital Area Food Bank: The mission of the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger. Dell Foundation supports three Kids Café ® sites at local Boys & Girls Clubs.

Caritas of Austin: Caritas provides a service continuum for children and adults experiencing poverty that begins with a safety net and links them to resources to achieve self-sufficiency. Dell funds the Community Support Program which provides families with emergency financial assistance, food, and/or referrals to other supportive agencies for families below poverty level.

Center for Child Protection: The mission of the Center for Child Protection is to reduce trauma to children during the investigation and prosecution of child abuse cases. Funding will underwrite the Tending Our Future, a volunteer recruitment, training and retention program.

Children’s Medical Center Foundation: The Dell Children’s Medical Center is dedicated to the care of children and adolescents within a 46-county region. Dell funds the Skippy Express Mobile Health Program which brings clinical and pediatric care and immunizations to hundreds of low-income children in the Austin community.

El Buen Samaritano: The mission of El Buen Samaritano is to transform lives by engaging the strengths of working-poor Hispanic families to promote their successful participation in our society. Dell Foundation funds Combating Childhood Obesity through Nutrition and Exercise, a program that teaches, models and provides the knowledge and skills of exercise and good nutrition to lead to future healthy lifestyles.

The Georgetown Project: The Georgetown Project mobilizes the community to address the needs of children, youth, and families. The Healthy Community Healthy Youth Program brings innovative, collaborative approaches to address the health and well-being of Georgetown youth and children, including tutoring, health and nutrition improvement, and increase in developmental assets for at-risk youth.

LifeWorks: LifeWorks transitions youth and families from crisis to safety and success. Dell Foundation underwrites Youth Prevention Services which helps youth develop the knowledge and skills necessary to avoid risky behaviors.

Lone Star Circle of Care: Lone Star Circle of Care is committed to the energetic and steadfast pursuit of quality, accessible and sustainable primary healthcare for Williamson County residents, focusing on the uninsured and underserved. Dell funds Healthcare for Underserved Children in Williamson County, providing a medical home and primary healthcare services for at-risk children and their families.

Manos de Cristo: Manos de Cristo serves the homeless, refugees, immigrants, the working poor and others who lack resources to meet their daily needs. Dell Foundation support underwrites the Manos de Cristo Dental Clinic which provides low or no cost oral health care to low-income children.

People’s Community Clinic: works to improve the health of medically underserved and uninsured Central Texans by providing high quality, affordable health care. The Team Health for Pre-Adolescents program provides social work services, referrals and counseling to pre-teens and their parents.

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Austin and Central Texas: provides lodging and support services in a nurturing home-like environment for families with seriously ill or injured children receiving treatment in Austin area hospitals. Dell support underwrites the Sponsor a Family Program to ensure that families needing to remain close to their hospitalized children will be housed regardless of financial circumstances.

SafePlace: SafePlace exists to end sexual and domestic violence through safety, healing, prevention, and social change. The Dell Foundation helps to underwrite the Stockton-Hicks Family Tree Child Development Center that serves children living in SafePlace’s Family Shelter or Supportive Housing apartments who have experienced domestic and sexual violence, poverty and/or homelessness.

The Seton Fund: Seton’s mission is to care for and improve the health of those served with a special concern for the sick and the poor. Dell funds the Healthy Kids-Healthy Families Diabetes Program which addresses the growing threat of childhood obesity and Type 2 diabetes through family-centered education that emphasizes nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle modification.

STARRY, Inc.: STARRY supports children, youth and parents in crisis through services that protect, educate, and promote strong families. Dell funds Licensed Professional Counseling Services for Children in STARRY’s residential care programs for abused and neglected children.

University of Texas Children’s Wellness Center: The mission of the Children’s Wellness Center is to provide holistic, comprehensive healthcare for medically underserved children by working actively with families who reside in the Del Valle Independent School District. The Pharmacy Voucher Program funds prescription medications for children of economically-disadvantaged families who receive medical services at the Center.

Volunteer Healthcare Clinic: The mission of the Volunteer Healthcare Clinic is to help the most vulnerable have access to high quality health care services and prevention education. The Children & Families Healthcare and Support Services Program provide primary and preventative healthcare diagnosis and treatment services to children and families with limited resources.