Southern Arizona children with asthma are breathing a little easier thanks to a $10,000 Sundt Foundation grant to the El Rio Health Center Foundation in Tucson. The non-profit organization raises awareness and funds for the El Rio Community Health Center, which serves 900 people per day, more than three quarters of whom live at or below the federal poverty level.
The health center used the funds to purchase equipment for its Children’s Asthma Intervention Program, which is provided free to participating families. The equipment included nebulizers, peak flow meters, spacers and pillow/mattress covers. El Rio has reported a marked increase in children participating in the program. Its goal – to aid 100 asthmatic children ages 3-18 in one calendar year – was recently surpassed when 127 children were cared for in a ten-month period.
“We are so very thankful for the ongoing support of the Sundt Foundation,” said Rachel Rivera, El Rio’s major gifts officer. “The $10,000 special grant was a joyful surprise. It will give El Rio three full years of funding.”
The Sundt Foundation raises money primarily through contributions from Sundt employees, which are then matched dollar-for-dollar by the company. Since its inception in 1999 the Foundation has made grants totaling more than $5 million to hundreds of worthy organizations. Most grants are awarded in communities where Sundt has an established office, or to charitable organizations associated with military installations where the company has a construction project underway. The special grant to El Rio was financed by the sale of several pieces of western artwork that were formerly displayed in Sundt’s Tucson office.