News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
June 26 2013
Sheri Davis, 208-385-2856
Sheri.Davis@centurylink.com
Thirty-six Idaho nonprofits receive $30,000 in grants from the CenturyLink Middle
School Philanthropy Program
Recipients chosen by students as part of class projects
BOISE, Idaho – CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE: CTL) recently donated $30,000 in grants to 36
nonprofit organizations around Idaho as part of the company’s Middle School Philanthropy
Program. Students at 10 middle schools across the state were given the opportunity to distribute
$3,000 per school among local nonprofits impacting their particular community.
As part of the program, students in selected classes at the schools picked each nonprofit after
doing research on the various organizations and voting as a group on how to allocate their funds.
The program’s purpose was to increase awareness among middle school students of various
needs in their communities. In addition, the program aimed to create a lifelong interest in
volunteerism and community involvement, develop skills to allocate limited resources and
increase civic engagement.
“CenturyLink is dedicated to enhancing the communities we serve in a meaningful way,” said
Jim Schmit, vice president and general manager for CenturyLink in Idaho. “This program is a
unique opportunity to enable students to connect with their community in a way that will raise
awareness of needs and hopefully plant a seed with them for a lifelong interest in giving back.”
The ten schools that awarded grants to nonprofits were:
 Crossroads Middle School in Meridian: Students in Jason Dransfield’s class awarded
$1,000 to Camp Erin, $1,000 to Camp Rainbow Gold, $500 to the Women’s and
Children’s Alliance and $500 to the Idaho Food Bank.
 Idaho Virtual Academy: Students in Lisa Frost’s class awarded $600 to the First Tee of
Idaho, $600 to the Idaho Doghouse Project, $600 to the Haven Shelter, $600 to Simply
Cats and $600 to the Canyon Animal Shelter.
 Jerome Middle School in Jerome: Students in Kim Lickley’s Advisory class awarded
$1,020 to South Central Community Action Partnerships, $1,140 to St. Luke’s Magic
Valley Health Foundation and $840 to the Jerome Animal Shelter.
 Kimberly Middle School in Kimberly: Patricia Weber’s Student Leadership Team
awarded $1,500 to the Boys and Girls Club of Magic Valley and $1,500 to the Fifth
Judicial District CASA program.
 Madison Middle School in Rexburg: Students in Michael Bone’s class awarded $700 to
Four Paws Pet Adoption, $700 to the Rexburg Community Theatre, $450 to the Idaho
International Summerfest, $450 to the Orphanage Support Services Organization
(OSSO), $350 to the Rexburg Police Department’s DARE program and $350 to the
Madison Education Foundation.
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Ririe Middle School in Ririe: Students in Ken Craner’s class awarded $1,000 to the Ririe
City Public Library and $2,000 to the Ririe Senior Center.
Rolling Hills Public Charter School in Boise: Students in David Shubert’s Community
Service class awarded $1,000 to Meals on Wheels, $500 to the Idaho Humane Society,
$250 to the Boys and Girls Club, $250 to the American Kestrel organization, $250 to the
Genesis Service Dogs, $250 to the Make A Wish of Idaho, $250 to Computers For Kids
and $250 to the Women’s and Children’s Alliance.
Vallivue Middle School in Caldwell: Students in Britney Barton’s Leadership class
awarded $1,500 to the Canyon County Animal Shelter and $1,500 to the St. Jude
Children’s Research Hospital.
Vision Charter School in Caldwell: Students in Mark Boothby’s class awarded $1,500 to
the Canyon County Animal Shelter and $1,500 to the Treasure Valley Down Syndrome
Association.
William Thomas Middle School in American Falls: Students in Melanie Williams’ class
awarded $1,500 to the Katherine Winter Davis Little Theater and $1,500 to the South
Eastern Idaho Community Action Agency.
“The Philanthropy Program gave my students an opportunity to look beyond their own needs by
focusing on the needs of others,” Dransfield said. “This helped them learn to be more community
minded. I have students who were so interested in some of the groups we studied that they have
inquired about volunteer opportunities. I had other students who already do volunteer work with
local charities and they were able to share with the rest of the students why they are so involved
in the different groups. Overall, I think this program is a great way to get students to focus on
helping others, and I’m thankful to CenturyLink for making it possible.”
“Helping facilitate students in developing a deeper understanding of philanthropy was much
more rewarding than I had initially planned,” said Weber “This small group of students took the
lead in every aspect of this project: learning about nonprofits, developing a mission statement
and criteria, researching nonprofits in the area, presenting to our staff, presenting to our student
body and managing a small fundraising component for selection purposes. I’m grateful to
CenturyLink for encouraging our young people to have opportunities for authentic projects of
this magnitude.”
About CenturyLink
CenturyLink is the third largest telecommunications company in the United States and is
recognized as a leader in the network services market by technology industry analyst firms. The
company is a global leader in cloud infrastructure and hosted IT solutions for enterprise
customers. CenturyLink provides data, voice and managed services in local, national and select
international markets through its high-quality advanced fiber optic network and multiple data
centers for businesses and consumers. The company also offers advanced entertainment services
under the CenturyLink® Prism™ TV and DIRECTV brands. Headquartered in Monroe, La.,
CenturyLink is an S&P 500 company and is included among the Fortune 500 list of America’s
largest corporations. For more information, visit www.centurylink.com.
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