Making a positive contribution to the communities in which we operate is one of our core values at Tryke. And it is in that spirit that we announce the 5th annual Reef Grant recipients.
We set up the Reef Grants program to provide financial assistance to individuals and organizations that are making a direct impact in our communities. Reef Grants are cash allocations that to go toward projects or causes nominated by members of our team. This year we received 26 submissions from our team, of which sixteen have been awarded grants. This year’s recipients include non-profit organizations and employee community service projects in Nevada, Arizona and Utah. We are proud to announce the recipients of our fifth annual Reef Grants program:
Three Square Food Bank (Las Vegas, NV): Three Square is a well-known southern Nevada organization with the simple vision that no one in our community should be hungry. Among other things, they work as a distribution & logistic provider to supply food banks and other community partners throughout their service area to reach struggling individuals and families at risk of hunger. The team member who nominated Three Square shared that he has received help from food banks during rough patches in his life, and will never forget the appreciation he felt for the comfort of a simple meal when times are tough.
Domestic Violence Resource Center (Reno, NV): The Domestic Violence Resource Center provides free services for people experiencing family violence, with the mission to, “Rebuild safe and hopeful lives for victims of family violence.” They are committed to offering state-of-the-art lifesaving services including a 24-hour emergency hotline, advocacy and individualized case management, emergency shelter, transitional housing and protection order assistance.
Check For A Lump (Phoenix, AZ): Check for a Lump provides free breast health education, mammograms, testing, and direct assistance to breast cancer patients in Arizona with wigs, support, and resources. Check For A Lump was nominated by a member for our team in Arizona whose wife they assisted with medical screening and specialist visits, and he is grateful for their help when his family needed it most. F*CK CANCER!
Make The Road Nevada (Las Vegas, NV): Make The Road Nevada is a non-profit organization working with Nevada’s Latino community to build a grassroots movement that will elevate the power of working class immigrant communities in every community around the state. Their goal is to inform, empower, and mobilize the community to take action on important issues ranging from immigrant rights to housing and housing, environmental, and economic justice.
Epilepsy Foundation of Arizona (Phoenix, AZ): The Epilepsy Foundation of Arizona aims to educate and bring awareness to Epilepsy and seizure disorders. The organization connects newly diagnosed patients to services and peer support groups. They are also well-known for their Camp Candlelight summer camp, which gives patients and opportunity to forge lifelong friendships, gain conflict resolution skills, overcome their fears, and, try new outdoor experiences under the care and supervision of medical professionals.
Ava’s Avengers (Las Vegas, NV): Ava’s Avengers seeks to stand as a symbol of hope to individuals of all ages living in need. By raising awareness through public and charitable events, Ava’s Avengers seeks to decrease the socioeconomic burdens placed on families by building support networks dedicated to furthering disease education, raising hope, and increasing human resilience by reminding everyone of the hero within themselves.
The Shade Tree (Las Vegas, NV): For over three decades, The Shade Tree Organization has worked to provide safe shelter to homeless and abused women & children in crisis. Their doors are open 24-hours a day, to any woman, with or without children, and male and female unaccompanied youth who lack a safe, adequate place to live.
Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center (Phoenix, AZ): Many of us have the experience of seeing a friend or family member who faces challenges finding resources for their autistic child. SARRC helps families navigate this lifelong journey through their dedication to autism research, education, evidence-based treatment, and community outreach. The nomination was inspired by SAARC’s support provided to the nominating team member’s family after their sibling’s autism diagnosis.
Lighthouse of Restoration (Las Vegas, NV): This organization was founded in 2011 with a mission to make an impact in the lives of single mothers, children, and grandparents that are raising their grandchildren that are low-income. They have assisted hundreds of families and children with school supplies, children shoes, personal hygiene items, Thanksgiving baskets, food vouchers, bus passes, and Christmas toys. They also offer career programs to assist single moms seeking to rejoin the workforce.
Nevada Blind Children’s Foundation (Las Vegas, NV): The NBCF provides the essential building blocks including expanded core curriculum, extracurricular activities, social opportunities, and transitional skills to children who are visually impaired. They work with children of all ages to help them achieve their potential in education, future employment, and quality of life.
Tooele Volunteer Fire Department (Tooele, UT): Tooele City Fire Department is a volunteer organization comprised of 50 active firefighters and over 100 senior status firefighters who are committed to providing the very best fire and rescue services to the area around Tooele, the home of Tryke’s Utah medical cannabis cultivation and production facility.
The Nevada Independent (Las Vegas, NV): The Nevada Independent is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news and opinion website founded in 2017 by veteran political journalist and commentator Jon Ralston. The site and its supporting channels are focused on ethical, unbiased and transparent journalism focused on the state of Nevada.
Signs of Hope (Las Vegas, NV): Signs of Hope has been serving the Las Vegas community for more than 45 years, with a constant focus on offering hope, help and healing to all that have been impacted by any form of sexual violence or exploitation. The nominating employees is an alumnus of thier victim advocate training program, and was inspired by the work they do to help victims of human trafficking.
Purrfect Pawprints (Grantsville, UT): Purrfect Pawprints is a foster-based, non-profit pet rescue in Utah. Their volunteer-run organization works hard to facilitate a compassionate, no-kill community using a targeted spay & neuter program, community outreach & education, and by assisting shelters and community members with animals in need.
Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #12198 (Las Vegas, NV): The Stephen Gibbs Memorial VFW Post #12198 helps hundreds of local veterans with Veteran Affairs claims, disability ratings, housing, food and other basic needs. This post has also adopted the 6th combat training squadron on Nellis Airforce base and enjoys supporting them with events for the troops and their families. Most importantly, they strive to bring veterans together to improve mental health and combat veteran suicide.
In addition to these great organizations, we provided one Reef Grant for a project organized by members of our team to directly distribute items such as non-perishable foods, hand sanitizer, gloves & socks, hygiene products, and more in our communities.
