Program offered to fire departments in communities served by Illinois American Water

[August 12, 2015]  BELLEVILLE - Illinois American Water is accepting applications for its 2015 Firefighter Grant Program. Through this program, the company provides financial assistance to fire and emergency organizations serving communities in its service areas.

According to Bruce Hauk, president of Illinois American Water, the Firefighter Grant Program is another opportunity for Illinois American Water to support fire protection efforts. He said, “This program allows our team to build on our partnership with our local heroes and contribute to their hard work. Since 2010, this program has awarded approximately $318,000 in over 295 grants to our community firefighters.”

The maximum grant amount is $1,000. Fire departments-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/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. 8, 2015 with the following information:

• Description of the organization(s) seeking support
• Overview of specific project to be funded and grant amount requested
• Community problem/challenges that the project will address
• Timeframe 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 karen.cotton@ amwater.com. 

About 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 high-quality and reliable water and/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 and most geographically diverse publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company. With headquarters in Voorhees, N.J., the company employs 6,800 dedicated professionals who provide regulated and market-based drinking water, wastewater and other related services to an estimated 15 million people in 47 states and Ontario, Canada. More information can be found at www.amwater.com.

[Karen Cotton, Illinois American Water]