TEP’s ‘Powerful Choice Challenge’ Kicks Off Today

Community asked to choose recipient of TEP’s $125,000 charitable
contribution

TUCSON, Ariz.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Tucson Electric Power’s Powerful Choice Challenge, an online contest
where five local nonprofits have the chance to win $125,000 in honor of
the company’s 125th anniversary, kicks off today and runs
through Oct. 25.

During TEP’s Powerful Choice Challenge, the community is invited to
visit tep.com
to cast votes for one of five nonprofit agencies: the Community Food
Bank of Southern Arizona, Habitat for Humanity Tucson, Junior
Achievement of Arizona, the Primavera Foundation and Tucson Values
Teachers.

The agency that receives the most votes during the contest will receive
a $125,000 contribution from TEP. The company also will make
contributions ranging from $20,000 to $5,000 to the challenge
runners-up. All contributions are funded from company resources, not
customers’ rates.

The contest is part of TEP’s yearlong celebration of 125 years of
service to Tucson. Since it was founded by a group of local business
leaders in 1892, TEP has worked to improve the quality of life in
Southern Arizona through philanthropy and community service.

Participating agencies were selected by TEP based on their community
impact and the strength of their project proposals. The agencies, and
their projects, include:

• Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona: Culinary Job
  Training That Feeds Southern Arizona – The Community Food Bank’s
  Caridad Community Kitchen provides culinary and job skills training to
  low-income individuals who are committed to self-improvement. Most
  Caridad students have much to reclaim: sobriety, a home, a family, or
  self-reliance. Students learn culinary skills by preparing over
  150,000 nutritious meals each year for vulnerable children, the
  homeless and working poor, and homebound seniors. Funds from TEP will
  help feed the hungry today while preparing a new class of Caridad
  students for successful careers in the culinary industry. More than 85
  percent of Caridad Community Kitchen graduates maintain gainful
  employment.
• Habitat for Humanity Tucson: A Brush With Kindness
  – An estimated 39,000 Pima County homes are substandard and in
  need of major repair. Habitat Tucson is committed to ensuring that
  everyone has a safe, decent place to live by repairing homes for our
  senior, veteran and disabled neighbors. Funds from TEP would help
  Habitat Tucson improve the lives of 70 limited-income families by
  completing critical home repairs, including energy efficiency upgrades
  that reduce their utility costs. Habitat Tucson’s A Brush With
  Kindness program also will help restore dignity to these homes with a
  fresh coat of paint, accessibility ramps and grab bars for improving
  mobility, and other special touches that make a house a home.
• Junior Achievement of Arizona: STEM-IT Summit –
  Junior Achievement of Arizona (JA) delivers critical science,
  technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs to middle school
  students from local limited-income families. Funds from TEP will allow
  JA to provide these lessons to an additional 2,000 Tucson students,
  preparing them for the workforce of the future. Through the first-ever
  local JA STEM-IT Summit and classroom lessons, students will gain
  critical thinking and technical skills to secure future STEM
  employment. JA’s proven model leverages educational partnerships and
  passionate volunteers to maximize impact. JA participants graduate at
  a higher rate than other Arizona students and, as adults, are 2.5
  times more likely to start a business. JA envisions thousands of its
  students improving our community by pursuing productive STEM careers.
• Primavera Foundation: Casa Paloma Women’s Shelter
  – Homeless women, often fleeing abuse, have few options. Shelters
  are typically full, and the women face other challenges that may
  impede their ability to access mainstream services such as physical
  and mental health challenges, substance abuse or chronic homelessness.
  Casa Paloma gives homeless, single women refuge, comfort and support.
  The women-only center helps participants stabilize their lives by
  helping them to secure employment and housing. The center offers
  weekly life skills sessions such as financial empowerment, conflict
  resolution and domestic violence awareness. Casa Paloma provides
  shower and laundry facilities, meals, blankets, hygiene items and
  clothing to 235 women annually. Funds from TEP would help renovate the
  62-year-old shelter with numerous health, safety and energy efficiency
  improvements.
• Tucson Values Teachers: Light Bulb Moments for Students –
  Teachers matter more to student success than any other aspect of
  schooling. But low pay, heavy workloads and a lack of support and
  respect are driving teachers out of the state or the profession. Funds
  from TEP would help Tucson Values Teachers (TVT) show 12,000 teachers
  that the community values their work to help 250,000 Southern Arizona
  students succeed in school and in life. TVT proposes collecting
  nominations of excellent teachers and recognizing 125 of them in a
  celebration during Teacher Appreciation Week. Each teacher would
  receive $500 to empower their students with "light bulb moments" of
  learning. These funds have an impact beyond the classroom because a
  strong education system benefits students and improves the quality of
  life for everyone.

To participate in the Powerful Choice Challenge, voters must be 18 years
or older and live or work in TEP’s service area. People may vote once
per day after visiting tep.com,
clicking on challenge promotion and then clicking on their preferred
nonprofit during the official voting period of 6 a.m. MST Monday, Oct.
16, to 6 a.m. MST Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2017. Votes for each nonprofit
will be displayed upon scrolling over their images on the challenge
homepage. At the conclusion of the challenge on Oct. 25, TEP will
declare the winner on its website and social media platforms.

The Powerful Choice Challenge represents just part of TEP’s ongoing
philanthropic investment in Southern Arizona. TEP will contribute more
than $1.5 million this year to local charities from corporate resources,
not customers’ rates. The company also contributes significant in-kind
support, and its employees volunteer thousands of hours for the causes
closest to their hearts.

TEP serves nearly 420,000 customers in Southern Arizona. TEP and its
parent company, UNS Energy, are subsidiaries of Fortis Inc., which owns
utilities that serve more than 3 million customers across Canada and in
the United States and the Caribbean. For more information, visit tep.com.

Contacts

Tucson Electric Power
Sherri Cadeaux, 520-884-3923
[email protected]