Henderson Oil Co. Awards $8,500 in Grants to HCPS

HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. (Jan. 22, 2019) – Henderson Oil Company awarded a total of $8,500 in ExxonMobil Educational Alliance grants to 17 Henderson County Public Schools on Tuesday, supplying elementary, middle and high school principals with extra funds for necessary materials and programming.

Atkinson Elementary, Bruce Drysdale Elementary, Clear Creek Elementary, Dana Elementary, Edneyville Elementary, Glenn C. Marlow Elementary, Hillandale Elementary, Mills River Elementary, Sugarloaf Elementary, Upward Elementary, Flat Rock Middle, Hendersonville Middle, Rugby Middle, East Henderson High, Hendersonville High, North Henderson High and West Henderson High each received $500 to fund school-specific local programs.

Bruce Drysdale Elementary, Dana Elementary, Mills River Elementary, and Upward Elementary intend to spend their funds on Google Chromebooks for the classroom. Atkinson and Hillandale elementaries will use the funds to support their participation in the Muddy Sneakers outdoor science program, and Hillandale also plans to put the funds toward its school’s robotics club. The grant funds will also help fund the robotics teams and programs at Edneyville and Clear Creek elementaries, as well as the annual family engagement Science Night at Clear Creek.

Glenn C. Marlow Elementary will use the grant to pay for science and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) resources and, while the funds will support science lab materials and upgrades at Hendersonville Middle, East Henderson High, and Hendersonville High. West Henderson High and Flat Rock Middle plan to use the grants to help fund N.C. Science Olympiad registration and materials costs.

The grants will also provide materials for Rugby Middle’s engineering club, headsets at Sugarloaf Elementary, and scientific calculators and virtual reality materials for computer science classes at North Henderson High.

The $500 grants are annually awarded on a first-come, first-served basis through the ExxonMobil Educational Alliance Program, as local ExxonMobil Distributors apply for them on behalf of schools.

“These grants continue to be as popular as ever, with 4,400 grants totaling $2.2 million being spoken for in about an hour,” said Henderson Oil Company Vice President Barry Edwards.

Since 2000, Henderson Oil Company and ExxonMobil have provided $227,250 in education grants to North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. Of that number, $126,750 has been awarded to schools in Henderson County. This year, Henderson Oil Company was awarded 18 grants, all benefiting Henderson County Public Schools.

“We’re here to support the schools in our backyard,” said Edwards, who has been spearheading the grant initiative locally for the past 18 years. “We get to come out and hear what you’re doing with the funds – that’s the best part,” he said.

District administrators thanked Edwards, Henderson Oil Company President Bill McKibbin, V.P. and Controller Paul Jordan, and Admin. Assistant Connie Cunningham for continuing to champion for local education.

“Your steadfast support year after year after year is invaluable to our school system,” said Associate Superintendent Dr. John Bryant. “To be able to receive this kind of money with discretion by the schools is just a huge benefit,” said Assistant Superintendent Dr. Jan King. “It really does provide funds that make a tangible difference for our students.”