Laboratory workers raise $153,000 for Los Alamos Employees' Scholarship Fund

Contact: Steve Sandoval, steves@lanl.gov, (505) 665-9206 (02-085)

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LOS ALAMOS, N.M., July 23, 2002 -- Los Alamos National Laboratory employees and subcontract personnel pledged or donated about $153,000 to this year’s Los Alamos Employees’ Scholarship Fund campaign, exceeding the goal by $3,000. The campaign supports a fund administered by the Laboratory and the Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation that awards college scholarships to Northern New Mexico area students.

Since the program's inception, Laboratory employees and subcontract personnel have contributed more than $577,000 in donations or pledges to the scholarship fund. And 156 high school seniors or college undergraduates have received scholarships through the fund.

“As part of the Northern New Mexico community, Los Alamos National Laboratory has a stake in maintaining the economic, academic and cultural strengths of the region. While we fulfill an important mission for the nation, we also believe in taking care of important needs here at home,” said Laboratory Director John Browne.

Browne noted that Laboratory personnel contribute to their community in other ways, such as through community service, tutoring and educational outreach, volunteering to serve on local boards and commissions and participating in the annual Los Alamos/Northern New Mexico and Santa Fe United Way fundraising campaigns.

Laboratory officials estimate that a dollar value for its support to the region in direct dollars as well as in time and equipment tops $5 million annually.

“Our employees’ financial contributions and volunteer involvement come from the heart, from caring for others and from true commitment to Northern New Mexico. We seek to secure the region’s future, which is our future, too, just as we work to secure the safety of our nation,” said Browne.

“On behalf of the [Laboratory] Foundation and the Los Alamos Employees’ Scholarship Fund, our most heartfelt thanks go out to each and every employee that contributed to this year’s scholarship campaign. We purposely set an ambitious goal of $150,000 knowing that the employees at the Laboratory would rally to support the next generation of scientists, doctors and business people,” said Susan Herrera, executive director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation.

“To have exceeded our fundraising goal should come as great news to students in Northern New Mexico, as they are the real beneficiaries of the funds raised in this year’s campaign. Without the generosity of Los Alamos employees, the dream of attending a good college or university would not be possible for many of Northern New Mexico’s best and brightest students,” Herrera added.

The Laboratory Foundation is a philanthropic grant-giving entity for the Laboratory created in 1997. It supports a range of national and community not-for-profit organizations.

For more information on the scholarship fund, write to tfox@lanlfoundation.org by electronic mail.

Los Alamos National Laboratory is operated by the University of California for the National Nuclear Security Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy and works in partnership with NNSA's Sandia and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories to support NNSA in its mission.

Los Alamos enhances global security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, developing technical solutions to reduce the threat of weapons of mass destruction and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health and national security concerns.

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