US Airways Awards $325,000 in Grants to Four Nonprofit Organizations

TEMPE, Ariz., June 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The US Airways (NYSE: LCC) Community Foundation has awarded a total of $325,000 in grants to four nonprofit organizations for the Community Foundation's spring funding period. Grants are provided to nonprofit organizations located in and providing services in the airline's hub and focus cities of Charlotte, N.C., Phoenix, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. for new building construction or the major renovation or expansion of an existing facility. The US Airways Community Foundation focuses on three key areas of support:  Improving and expanding educational opportunities that teach skills to succeed in school and gain meaningful employment; programs that provide basic human needs to help encourage, sustain and develop economic self-reliance, and access to major arts and culture organizations that broaden artistic excellence.

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The spring grants include:

• $150,000 contribution to Philabundance in Philadelphia to build a new community food center in Chester, Penn., one of the country's most barren food deserts. The facility will offer both free and modestly priced items enabling clients to make their own selections, which helps create self-empowerment. Expanded hours will make it more accessible to the working poor and encourage many people in need who currently do not use hunger relief services to go to the center. US Airways' Philadelphia leadership team led by Hub Vice President, Bob Ciminelli recently spent an afternoon of teambuilding and volunteering at Philabundance (see photos on Facebook).
• $75,000 to United Family Services of Charlotte to expand the Shelter for Battered Women to an 80-bed domestic violence facility;
• $75,000 to the Charlotte Rescue Mission to expand the Dove's Nest residential recovery programs for homeless and at risk women with alcohol and drug addiction issues; and
• $25,000 to Ballet Arizona to renovate a 45,000-square-foot warehouse to allow artistic leadership, dancers, administration, staff and students to work together under one roof, creating streamlined operations.

"US Airways is honored to support nonprofit organizations that focus on sustainable change and result in healthy, vibrant communities. It's our way of helping big dreams get off the ground to enrich and expand the lives of passengers and our communities," said Elise Eberwein, executive vice president of People, Communications and Public Affairs for US Airways.  

Applications for the fall US Airways Community Foundation grant will be available after July 1 and interested nonprofit organizations should visit www.usairways.com/corporategiving for more information. The deadline each year for application submission is April 1 and Oct. 1.

About US Airways

US Airways, along with US Airways Shuttle and US Airways Express, operates more than 3,200 flights per day and serves more than 200 communities in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Europe, the Middle East, the Caribbean, Central and South America. The airline employs more than 32,000 aviation professionals worldwide, operates the world's largest fleet of Airbus aircraft and is a member of the Star Alliance network, which offers its customers more than 20,500 daily flights to 1,293 airports in 190 countries. Together with its US Airways Express partners, the airline serves approximately 80 million passengers each year and operates hubs in Charlotte, N.C., Philadelphia and Phoenix, and a focus city in Washington, D.C. at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Aviation Week and Overhaul & Maintenance magazine presented US Airways with the 2012 Aviation Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) of the Year Award for demonstrating outstanding achievement and innovation in the area of technical operations. US Airways was the only airline included as one of the 50 best companies to work for in the U.S. by LATINA Style magazine's 50 Report for 2010 and 2011. The airline also earned a 100 percent rating on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality index for six consecutive years. The Corporate Equality index is a leading indicator of companies' attitudes and policies toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees and customers. For more company information visit usairways.com, follow on Twitter @USAirways or at Facebook.com/USAirways. (LCCG)

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SOURCE US Airways