Alan Icenhour, right, ORNL deputy director for laboratory operations, presents Billy Edmonds, executive director of the Free Medical Clinic, with a check during a celebration on Oct. 18 in Briceville. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
Twenty-five nonprofit entities have been awarded grants totaling $150,000 from UT-Battelle to support community-focused programs in East Tennessee. UT-Battelle manages and operates Oak Ridge National Laboratory on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy.
“The success of our community is a vital part of the lab’s mission,” said Alan Icenhour, deputy laboratory director for operations at ORNL. “We’re proud to support organizations that positively impact many lives in East Tennessee.”
Among the recipients is the Free Medical Clinic, based in Oak Ridge, which opened a new location in Briceville in August 2021. The clinic also has a location in Harriman. The clinics provide free medical care for low-income and uninsured residents of Anderson, Morgan and Roane counties.
"Funds from the UT Battelle-ORNL grant helped provide a phone system, computers and internet service so our medical team could access medical records and place lab and medicine orders for our Briceville patients,” said Billy Edmonds, executive director of Free Medical Clinic. “We are honored to partner with ORNL in creating a better future for our neighbors in need.”
The following nonprofits also received funding:
- American Red Cross
- Blount County Robotics Team 4504
- Catlettsburg Elementary School Robotics
- Celebrate Oak Ridge
- Center of Science and Industry
- Children's Museum of Oak Ridge
- Congressional Medal of Honor Society
- Discover Life in America
- Foothills Land Conservancy
- Friends of Literacy
- Friends of Oak Ridge National Laboratory
- Girls Inc.
- Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont
- International Economic Development Council
- Keep Knoxville Beautiful
- Legacy Parks Foundation
- Little River Watershed Association
- Michael Dunn Center
- Midway Middle School
- Nurture the Next
- Pull for our Veterans
- Shora Foundation
- YWCA
- Zoo Knoxville
Local organizations can apply for support through the lab’s Community Engagement Office twice a year. A monthlong application period opens in January and July with awards given in February and August, respectively. An organization is eligible to receive funding once a year to deliver programs in five categories: civic/cultural, economic development, public awareness, STEM education and volunteerism.
More information about eligibility and the grant application are available on the ORNL website.
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.