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Nicor Gas awards $100,000 in grants to support educational and career readiness programs

NAPERVILLE, IL – December 6, 2022 – Expanding on its commitment to enhance opportunities and social mobility for the communities it is proud to serve, Nicor Gas is announcing $100,000 in grants awarded to organizations supporting educational and career readiness programs. 

“We know that access to educational and workforce development opportunities is critical to ensure our communities are not only strong, but thriving places to live and work,” said Jackie Nagel, manager of Community Engagement at Nicor Gas. “As the largest natural gas provider in Illinois, we are committed to doing our part to develop a qualified workforce through the support of secondary and post-secondary educational opportunities, as well as technical and vocational programming.”

This year, Nicor Gas is proud to award 22 organizations with grants to support their educational and career readiness programs: 

Cook County: 

  • Bottom Line: Supports underrepresented students in choosing colleges that are well suited academically and personally. 

  • Bridge Teen Center: Supports their job readiness program to introduce students to potential career paths. 

  • Chicago Sky Cares Foundation: Supports financial literacy boot camps for underrepresented students to learn about personal finance and investing. 

  • Computer Science Teachers Association: Supports professional development opportunities for teachers in the field across Illinois. 

  • Illinois Science and Technology Institute: Supports a mentor matching program for students and local professionals. 

  • Inscite Illinois: Supports the FIRST Tech Challenge regional and state robotics championships. 

  • Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs: Supports summer manufacturing camps that provide youth in Cook and McHenry counties with hands-on experiences to strengthen their technical, analytical and communication skills. 

  • Youth Job Center of Evanston: Supports workforce development and job placement serving individuals 14 – 25 years old. 

DeKalb County: 

  • Northern Illinois University Foundation: Supports the university’s annual STEM fest that provides hands-on activities and presentations to drive interest in the field. 

DuPage County: 

  • Asserting Achievement, Literacy & Resiliency (AALR): Supports training and mentorship programs for first generation college students.  

  • Literacy DuPage: Supports one-on-one personal literacy tutoring programs for adults. 

  • Naperville Youth Development Coalition: Supports the annual community and student job fair to prepare the next generation’s workforce.  

  • North Central College: Supports the college’s MLK Week and Black History Month programming. 

  • Resilient NFP: Supports programming for non-college bound students with the opportunity to learn skills necessary for job seeking. 

Kankakee County: 

  • Community Foundation of Kankakee River Valley: Supports the Kankakee County CEO Program to provide real world experience for high school juniors and seniors. 

  • Kankakee Community College Foundation: Supports programming for the college’s new Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Center. 

Livingston County: 

  • Boys and Girls Club of Livingston County: Supports comprehensive science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) programs and learning opportunities among traditionally underserved groups. 

McLean County: 

  • Heartland Community College: Supports curriculum that integrates robotic quadrupeds into classroom learning and recruitment of students into STEM programs. 

  • Illinois State University Foundation: Supports the university’s “Business Week” series focused on professional and workforce development training. 

Tazewell County: 

  • Junior Achievement of Central Illinois: Supports programming for high school students to learn about local employers through an online interactive expo. 

Will County: 

  • Lewis University: Supports programming to engage high school girls in STEM through a summer camp experience. 

Winnebago County: 

  • Boys and Girls Club of Rockford: Supports the club’s career readiness share lab and its virtual career exploration technology. 

To learn more about Nicor Gas’ commitment to educational initiatives and career readiness programs, visit www.NicorGas.com/Community.  

About Nicor Gas  
Nicor Gas is one of four natural gas distribution companies of Southern Company Gas, a wholly owned subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO). Nicor Gas serves more than 2.3 million customers in a service territory that encompasses most of the northern third of Illinois, excluding the city of Chicago. For more information, visit nicorgas.com. 

About Southern Company Gas   
Southern Company Gas is a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE:SO), America’s premier energy company. Southern Company Gas serves approximately 4.3 million natural gas utility customers through its regulated distribution companies in four states with approximately 600,000 retail customers through its companies that market natural gas. Other nonutility businesses include investments in interstate pipelines and ownership and operation of natural gas storage facilities. For more information, visit southerncompanygas.com.

Media Contact:  
Allison Gregoire  
470.733.2076 
aegregoi@southernco.com