First round of special COVID-19 fund supports 21 charities

Twenty-one charities are doing more to deliver health services, food programs, learning resources, and emergency financial help, thanks to underwriting from the Bechtel COVID-19 Relief Fund.

Created at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the $3 million Fund is partnering with nonprofits to address urgent human needs in the company’s project and office communities.

“Our first round of gifts totaled $770,000 and went to 21 charities in 2 countries,” says LeeAnne Lang of Bechtel Group Foundation, which provided the funds for the special giving program. “By September, we’ll have distributed a second and final round of gifts in partnership with GlobalGiving, the first and largest crowdfunding community to connect nonprofits, companies, and donors worldwide.”

Positive impact

The $770,000 in first-round gifts from the Bechtel COVID-19 Relief Fund helped charities address the diverse needs created by the pandemic in the company’s office and project communities.

Improve health

• Testing blood donations for COVID-19 antibodies at the American Red Cross, Bluegrass Chapter in Kentucky
• Starting a nutrition program for 435 senior citizens at Pueblo Cooperative Care Center in Colorado
• Providing medical equipment and supplies to UNICEF USA for the COVID-19 response in Egypt

Fight hunger

• Feeding 400 families for a year at God’s Outreach Madison County Food Bank in Kentucky
• Underwriting 182,000 meals at Golden Harvest Food Bank, which serves 25 counties in Georgia and South Carolina counties.
• Partnering with the Second Harvest Food Bank of Mahoning Valley to buy a commercial cooler for the food pantry in Wellsville, Ohio
• Adding 120,000 meals to the capacity of the Southeast Texas Food Bank
• Helping St. Mary’s Food Bank provide food programs to nine Arizona counties 
• Keeping The Center of Compassion food pantry operating in Dover Plains, New York

Promote learning

• Partnering with Fred Rogers Productions on exhibits and distance-learning materials at Children’s Museum Houston 
• Providing equipment and training to enhance remote learning at the Sabine Pass Education Foundation in Texas

Support families

• Helping the Community Foundation for the Ohio Valley fund youth activities, recreational programs, and public safety improvements in Belmont County, Ohio
• Investing in the Neighbor to Neighbor Disaster Relief Fund at East Tennessee Foundation
• Improving health, education, and financial stability through partnerships with United Way organizations across the United States, including:
  • United Way of Benton & Franklin Counties in eastern Washington
  • United Way of Beaver County in Pennsylvania
  • United Way of Central Savannah River Area in Georgia and South Carolina
  • United Way of Highway 55 in Tennessee
  • United Way of Pueblo County in Colorado
  • United Way of Southwest Louisiana, which serves five of the state’s parishes
  • United Way of the Bluegrass in Kentucky
  • Valley of the Sun United Way in Arizona

Learn more 

• East Tennessee Foundation
• Golden Harvest Food Bank
• United Way of Pueblo County
• United Way of Southwest Louisiana