SANTA ROSA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) today announced it donated $100,000 to Santa Rosa-based Anova, a provider of educational, behavioral and therapy services for children and teens. The announcement comes as students head back to Anova’s Santa Rosa campus into temporary, portable classrooms for the first time since the devastating October 2017 Northern California wildfires.
“We are grateful for PG&E’s support, and we know this donation means a lot to our 125 students and their parents because we are one big family. Structure and routine are important for us, so although we’ve been lucky to have other schools generously open their doors to our staff and students, it’s nice to have everyone back together,” said Andrew Bailey, Founder and CEO of Anova.
The school serves students who have been diagnosed with high functioning autism, social and emotional challenges, learning differences and other neuro-developmental impairments. Located on the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts property, the school, its workshops and playground were destroyed in the Tubbs Fire. In the meantime, students had been attending classes at various other schools in Sonoma County.
Students and teachers were welcomed back with a big celebration organized by the North Bay Fire Relief Fund. The PG&E donation is part of the energy company’s efforts to help emergency personnel respond; residents and businesses rebuild; and organizations improve resilience after a wildfire.
“Our thoughts are with everyone impacted by the Northern California wildfires. When our employees told us about this unique school that was destroyed in the fires, we knew we had to help,” said Travis Kiyota, PG&E Vice President of California External Affairs.
The donation has been earmarked toward the purchase of a new playground specifically designed and built for the needs of Anova’s students. The school’s community had raised funds for two years to earn the money needed to purchase the unique playground, only to have it destroyed in the Tubbs fire just days after it arrived at the school.
“Our goal is to provide innovative education and therapy services - and play is a big part of that. Students learn social skills and how to interact with each other on the playground and they learn how their bodies move and feel with exercise,” added Bailey.
To donate to Anova’s fundraising campaign to help rebuild the school, visit www.anovaeducation.org.
For more on how PG&E is helping with rebuilding efforts in the areas impacted by the Northern California wildfires, visit www.pgecommitment.com.
About Anova
Founded in 2000, Anova is Northern California’s most trusted provider of education and therapy services for children and teens diagnosed with autism, learning differences, and other neuro-developmental impairments. Anova’s services include two specialized non-profit K-12 schools located in Santa Rosa and Concord, CA, behavior analysis, speech and language, social cognition, occupational therapy, sensory integration and training, early intervention, paraprofessional support in public schools, in-home services, and a transition program. www.anovaeducation.org.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric energy companies in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with more than 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation’s cleanest energy to nearly 16 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com/ and pge.com/news.
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