Company pledges $10,000 to five-year school foundation campaign

During the next five years, the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation (ORPSEF) has set a goal to provide $100,000 annually to the Oak Ridge schools.

Cadre5, a full-service technology and design firm with a focus on custom software development and technology innovation, recently made a $10,000 commitment to the campaign, and the company will give $2,000 annually to help the ORPSEF reach its goal.

“Finding employees that have the skills to face some of the nation’s most difficult technical issues can be a challenge,” said Steve Hicks, president and chief executive officer of Cadre5 LLC. “By supporting our local schools, we not only create a community that is attractive to grow today’s businesses, we are establishing a strong foundation for our future workforce to ensure that we will have the talent to answer tomorrow’s tough questions.”

Hicks applauds the ORPSEF for its efforts to continually look for ways to add value to the Oak Ridge schools by providing resources above and beyond what today’s tight education budgets can provide.

“Our schools are one of our community’s most important economic development assets,” said Lila Metcalf, executive director of the ORPSEF. “We are fortunate that so many businesses, like Cadre5, realize the importance of having strong schools and that they continually support them so the students and teachers have the resources they need to succeed.”

Since 2005, the ORPSEF has provided $322,000 in grants to fund proposals from Oak Ridge teachers. The grants are awarded to address a variety of classroom goals by giving teachers the tools they need to enhance student performance.

The Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation is a nonprofit organization that exists to financially support programs to ensure the continued excellence of Oak Ridge public schools. Donations to the ORPSEF are tax-deductible. To make a contribution or for additional information, contact Lila Metcalf at (865) 241-3667 or visit www.orpsef.org.

Cadre5 LLC is based in Knoxville and has satellite offices in Oak Ridge and Nashville, with clients throughout the United States. For more information, visit www.cadre5.com or call (865) 694-5600.