By Maxine Shapiro, KERA 90.1 business commentator
Dallas, TX – The economic slump hasn't been kind to the market value of many of the Metroplex's larger companies. A couple of them are coming off their yearly lows. But these corporations are an example of how even in the down times, their aspiration to aid their communities has not waned. I'm Maxine Shapiro with KERA Marketplace Middays.
Say what you want about the big oil companies, and I will continue to do that. In the past two days, I've read about two gifts from the Exxon-Mobil Foundation - that's the charitable arm of Exxon-Mobil. Yesterday, The Dallas Morning News reported that Exxon-Mobil gave a $100,000 gift to the Dallas Black Dance Theatre. The theatre is looking to raise $10 million for a complete renovation of their current home. It will include workshop areas and education facilities. And Exxon-Mobil is the first corporate sponsor for the Dallas Black Dance Theatre.
Today I read that the 2002 Exxon Mobil Green Team, funded by a $200,000 grant to the City, finished its twenty-first year of summer programs. Part of these high school students did landscaping and maintenance for city parks and athletic fields. Another portion helped build two homes in far South Oak Cliff.
Now across town is Texas Instruments, who's been badly affected by this year's slump. Their charitable foundation just gave a $1 million grant to open a headstart program in South Dallas. It's called David's Place and is in the shadow of Fair Park. The T.I. foundation has also made a $1 million endowment to pay for the fees for high school students to take advanced placement courses. That includes the price of the test at the end of the year. These classes help better prepare students for college. It was explained to me that though the teachers that run these classes do so from their heart, this endowment helps stipend the teachers' salary. Good. Students that normally wouldn't get a chance to be exposed to colleges, now do.
These are just two of the many companies, in spite of the current economic conditions, that have not forgotten about their civic duty. For KERA Marketplace Middays, I'm Maxine Shapiro.
Marketplace Midday Reports air on KERA 90.1 Monday - Friday at 1:04 p.m. To contact Maxine Shapiro, please send emails to mshapiro@kera.org.