DALLAS, April 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas Instruments announced today the winners of its second annual TI Founders Community Service Awards, recognizing four individual employees who are based in North Texas as exceptional volunteers. Two TI teams that work in Dallas, Texas and Tucson, Arizona also received awards for their outstanding community service efforts.

Each year, during National Volunteer Week, TI honors the contributions employees make toward building a better future for the communities where the company operates. In 2010, TI employees donated nearly 32,000 hours of their time serving as volunteers for organizations in their communities around the world.

"Supporting our local communities brings value to TI and is an integral part of the company's culture and history," said Andy Smith, TI director of corporate philanthropy. "Having our employees engaged in the community gives them the opportunity to learn new skills, fosters teamwork and collaboration, represents TI, and makes our cities better places to live and work."

Nominations were judged on several criteria, including the impact the volunteer work had on the community and the leadership that the individual or team exhibited. An independent panel of judges named the following individuals and teams as 2011 winners:

• Vijay Bhalla, a TI member of technical staff, is committed to helping people in the Dallas area live happy and healthy lives. He was instrumental in starting the Greater Dallas Arya Samaj (GDAS) in 2005 and the GDAS Cancer Clinic in Plano for the uninsured in 2009.
• Gregory Duperon, a TI test engineer, has a passion for helping people in need. In addition to his work at the Salvation Army, he helps restore homes and churches through Habitat for Humanity and Rebuild Dallas and is on the planning committee for the 2011 Oak Cliff Earth Day event.
• Tonya Dixon-Muraguri, a TI supply planning analyst, mentors at-risk students. She has given more than 500 girls much-needed guidance, support and encouragement during the last decade by serving as a mentor and advisor.
• Mauricio Ruiz, a TI technical specialist, returns to Nicaragua each year as a volunteer. Over the past 10 years, Ruiz has traveled to 10 different Nicaraguan communities to improve the lives of the families and individuals who live there.
• The TI Tucson Community Involvement Team has increased support for the local United Way. The team boosted employee participation in the annual campaign and raised $116,000 through a variety of employee-organized and sponsored events.  They also involved more than 125 employees and their families in Days of Caring projects, including renovating a barn to create a recreation facility for foster kids.
• TI's ¡Unidos! Community Involvement team members have raised almost $100,000 during the past five years and provided more than 500 volunteer hours to strategic programs that further the educational and creative growth of the Hispanic community in North Texas.

For each award, TI donates $1,000 to a nonprofit agency that the winner designates. St. Luke's Home in Tucson, Arizona was chosen by the TI Tucson Community Involvement Team.  Five North Texas organizations were chosen by the other award winners: GDAS Cancer Clinic in Plano (Vijay Bhalla); and Salvation Army (Gregory Duperon); Shirley A. Fridia Development Center, Inc. (Tonya Dixon-Muraguri); the American Red Cross (Mauricio Ruiz); and Mi Escuelita (¡Unidos! Community Involvement Team) in Dallas.

The TI Founders Community Service Awards are named in honor of TI founders Erik Jonsson, Eugene McDermott, Cecil Green and Pat Haggerty, who set the standard for TI employees to be involved in their communities.

Created last year for TI's 80th anniversary, the awards recognize U.S. employees and are managed in collaboration with the Volunteer Center of North Texas. The panel of judges included representatives from the Dallas Women's Foundation, The Volunteer Center of North Texas, the TI Foundation board of directors, the Richardson ISD board of trustees, and the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas.

TI Founders Community Service Awards will also be given in a separate nomination process at TI in Bangalore for the first time this year. The award winners in India will be chosen the end of April.

About Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments semiconductor innovations help 80,000 customers unlock the possibilities of the world as it could be – smarter, safer, greener, healthier and more fun.  Our commitment to building a better future is ingrained in everything we do – from the responsible manufacturing of our semiconductors, to caring for our employees, to giving back inside our communities.  This is just the beginning of our story.  Learn more at www.ti.com.

SOURCE Texas Instruments Incorporated