Fidelity Awards $5,000 Grant to Java Cats School in Thayer, MO

Fidelity Communications Awards $5,000 Grant to Java Cats School-Based Enterprise at Thayer R-II School

July 21, 2021 – Thayer, Mo. – Fidelity Communications, a member of the Cable One family of brands, recently awarded a $5,000 grant to Java Cats School-Based Enterprise at Thayer R-II School through the company's Charitable Giving Fund, which launched in January 2021. Through this program, the company awarded more than $100,000 in grants earlier this summer to 30 nonprofit organizations across its 24-state footprint.

Java Cats School-Based Enterprise, which provides a realistic work environment with real-world skills and work experience for its special needs students, received the grant from Fidelity to help fund the expansion of the program with added tools and equipment that will allow for a safer environment, and increase its capacity to serve.

"Through our program, middle and high school special needs students learn life, pre-vocational, food planning and preparation skills. Then students apply those skills through interaction with peers, staff, and the community through the operation of our Java Cats coffee kiosk and life skills kitchen," said Mark Shrable, Thayer School Special Educator and Java Cats Sponsor. "With this grant, we can expand our program to impact more students, allow them to gain confidence, take pride, and master their abilities for application in their homes and out in the community. In turn, we will continue to support our larger community as students serve coffee to our local senior centers, law enforcement, and others as part of our Java Cats Giving Back initiative which includes raising funds toward the treatment and a cure for ALS."

The Charitable Giving Fund, which will annually award $200,000 in grants to local 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations served by Fidelity and the other Cable One family of brands (Sparklight®, Clearwave®, ValuNet Fiber and Hargray), concentrates support in the following priority areas:

• Education and Digital Literacy
• Food Insecurity
• Community Development

Nonprofit organizations will have the opportunity to apply for a grant during open application periods each spring and fall. Applications for fall 2021 grants will open between October 1 - 31, 2021.

"Through our support of these nonprofit organizations, we are helping to build strong and vibrant communities, improve quality of life, and make a positive difference in the communities where we live and work," said Julie Laulis, Cable One President and CEO.

The Charitable Giving Fund is an extension of the company's existing corporate social responsibility efforts, which include:

• Chromebooks for Kids, an initiative in which the company donates Chromebooks to Title I schools across its footprint. To date the company has donated more than 1,500 Chromebooks to help bridge the digital divide in schools that lack funding.
• Partnering with EmbraceRace, a national organization dedicated to creating tools, resources, and networks to promote a movement of child and adult racial justice advocates.
• Supporting the mission of Special Olympics Arizona, which provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports, as well as health, arts, and leadership and advocacy programs for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.
• Planting trees through the Arbor Day Foundation on behalf of customers who switch to paperless billing. By the end of 2021, the company will have planted 110,000 trees in its markets and national forests.
• Supporting the mission of Keep America Beautiful in cleaning up and beautifying communities across the U.S.

For more information about Fidelity's Charitable Giving Fund, visit www.fidelitycommunications.com/charitablegiving.