Illinois American Water announces grant program for firefighters

[August 08, 2013]  BELLEVILLE -- Illinois American Water is accepting applications for its 2013 Firefighter Grant. Through this program, the company provides financial assistance to fire and emergency organizations serving communities in its service areas.

According to Karla Olson Teasley, president of Illinois American Water, the program has been very successful in providing assistance to community fire protection efforts. "This is the fourth year for this program, which has awarded in total over 148 grants and over $173,000 to Illinois firefighters," Teasley said.

The maximum grant amount is $1,000. Fire departments and districts are eligible for one grant per calendar year. Only uniformed professional and volunteer fire departments serving Illinois American Water's service territory are eligible to receive funding. Grants of up to $1,000 will be considered to cover the costs associated with the following:

• Personal protective gear

• Communications equipment

• Firefighting tools

• Water handling equipment

• Training and related activities and materials used to support community fire protection

• Reimbursement for specific fire training classes, including training manuals and workbooks

Fire departments should send a letter of application postmarked by Sept. 6 with the following information:

• Description of the organization seeking support

• Overview of specific project to be funded and grant amount requested

• Community problem or challenges that the project will address

• Time frame for implementation of project

• Summary of other sources being approached for support of project

• Project budget

Applications can be emailed to Karen Cotton, manager of external affairs, at [e-mail]. With questions concerning the grant program, contact Cotton via email or by phone at 309-566-4126.

[Text from file received from Illinois American Water]

Illinois American Water, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), is the largest investor-owned water utility in the state, providing or wastewater services to approximately 1.2 million people. American Water also operates a customer service center in Alton and a quality control and research laboratory in Belleville. Founded in 1886, American Water is the largest publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company. With headquarters in Voorhees, N.J., the company employs more than 7,000 who provide drinking water, wastewater and other related services to approximately 15 million people in more than 30 states, as well as parts of Canada. For more information, visit www.amwater.com.