A press release has arrived about the McHenry County Community Foundation’s having awarded $7,500 to NASA Education’s auto mechanic’s training program. It follows:

“McHenry County Community Foundation
Awards $7,500 Grant to NASA Education”

CRYSTAL LAKE, IL – McHenry County Community Foundation (MCCF) has awarded a $7,500 grant to National Association of Systems Administrators Education Corporation (NASA Education), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Crystal Lake, to support Project Fresh Start, a community reintegration program for U.S. veterans who are displaced, disabled, homeless or otherwise in transition.

NASA Education was recognized and the grant money presented at MCCF’s 2008 Grant Gala Celebration, held on Tuesday, June 17th, 2008 at Turnberry Country Club, in Village of Lakewood, Illinois.

NASA Education was one of twenty recipients receiving grant money from the foundation, out of forty-six applications that were submitted.

The grant will be used to expand NASA Educations auto mechanic’s training center, expenditures associated with the repair of vehicles donated to the nonprofit organization and related expenses such as gasoline and maintenance of the donated vehicles, insurance, fees for titles and license plates, and drivers’ license application/renewal fees for Project Fresh Start participants.

Donated vehicles are solicited from the public and are repaired for the use of participants who have completed their training programs at NASA Education and have been placed in jobs. We will pick up the donated vehicles and we never resell them.

The McHenry County Community Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization created to give concerned citizens an innovative way to use their charitable dollars for the good of McHenry County. As their motto states; We’re connecting People Who care with Causes That Matter”.

“We are grateful to the McHenry County Community Foundation for this financial support,” said John Blanchard, executive director of NASA Education. “Transportation is one of the leading challenges for the homeless veterans we serve. With the foundation’s help, we will be able to address this challenge in a significant way to get our nation’s heroes back to work at competitive wage jobs.”

For information about NASA Education or how to donate a vehicle for Project Fresh Start, please phone 866-338-4968 (866-EDU-4YOU), send an email to amy_johnson@nasaeducation.org or visit our website at www.nasaeducation.org.

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Jennifer Streit, Vice Chair of the McHenry County Community Foundation, hands a $7,000 check to NASA Education’s Amy Johnson. The head shot is of John Blanchard.