Thanks to the generosity of Laboratory employees, the Lab’s 2023 Back to School Drive comfortably blew past its original $15,000 fundraising goal, raising $21,667 for the purchase of backpacks filled with school supplies for middle and elementary school students in need.
Thirty Lab volunteers assembled to sort the backpacks, while 23 others delivered them across the region in time for the start of the new school year.
The schools that received donations are:
- Cuba Independent School District
- Carlos F. Vigil Middle School
- Española Public Schools
- Jemez Mountain Public Schools
- Jemez Valley Public Schools
- Jemez Day School, Jemez Pueblo
- Kha'p'o Community School, Santa Clara Pueblo
- Mesa Vista Consolidated Schools
- San Ildefonso Day School, San Ildefonso Pueblo
- Pojoaque Valley School District
- Chama Valley Independent School District
- Pecos Independent School District
- Mora Independent School District
- San Diego Riverside Charter School, Jemez Pueblo
- Taos Day School, Taos Pueblo
- Te Tsu Geh Oweenge School, Tesuque Pueblo
School nurses, teachers and counselors will identify which students will receive the backpacks, based on the students' needs and circumstances.
Northern Rio Grande Heritage Area now accepting grant applications
In 2006, Congress established the Northern Rio Grande Heritage Area (NRGNHA) in Río Arriba, Santa Fe, and Taos counties to help tribal and local governments and other public and private entities conserve and sustain cultural, historical, archaeological, and natural resources.
NRGHA has a grant program to make federal funds available to support a variety of projects in the heritage area, and communities, tribal and local governments, land grant associations, nonprofit organizations, youth programs, historical and archaeological societies, and preservation groups are encouraged to apply for funding of up to $10,000 that supports the NRGNHA’s vision and goals.
This year’s deadline is Sept. 15, and more information is available here.
Lab ranked among top employers promoting diversity
Los Alamos National Laboratory was selected as one of the "Top Companies for Latinas to Work for in the United States in 2022," by LATINA Style magazine. The Lab, which ranked 33rd out of 50, has appeared on this list for five consecutive years and is the only national laboratory honored.
Board members from HOLA, the Laboratory’s Hispanic employee employee resource group, attended the LATINA Style awards gala in Washington, D.C. to accept the award on the Laboratory’s behalf.
Companies that responded to LATINA Style's questionnaire — including the Lab — were evaluated on workplace matters deemed important to readers of LATINA Style.
Among the principal areas of evaluation are an increase in overall Latina population, Latina retention, mentoring programs, educational opportunities, employee benefits, active affinity groups and Hispanic community relations. Evaluations for the 2022 report are based on 2021 data.