The ECMC Foundation, which works to improve education for students in underserved communities, has announced grants totaling $1.45 million to seventy-two nonprofit organizations.

Awarded through the foundation's 2017 Go! Program, which invites employees of affiliates of its parent company, ECMC Group, to recognize the work of organizations aligned with the foundation’s mission, the grants will support early childhood through postsecondary education programs in nineteen states. Recipients include the Fathers and Families Center in Indianapolis, which was awarded $25,000 in support of its efforts to help at-risk fathers obtain the skills and training certifications they need to secure employment that pays a living wage; Avenues for Homeless Youth in Minneapolis, which will receive $25,000 to hire an education support specialist to work with homeless youth; and Fairytale Town in Sacramento, which was awarded $25,000 for its Sacramento Adventure Playground "maker" lab.

"Through our company-wide GO! Program initiative, everyone in the ECMC Group family has the opportunity to connect the foundation's mission…to organizations they care about in their local communities," said ECMC Foundation president Peter J. Taylor. "It provides employees the chance to give back and make a difference in a personal and meaningful way."