SAN FRANCISCO – Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) announced that scholarship applications are now available for college-bound high school as well as current college and continuing students.

The awards from the company’s employee resource groups will mean that at least 150 students in PG&E’s Northern and Central California service area will receive from $1,000 to $6,000 next year for exemplary scholastic achievement and community leadership.

Every year, PG&E’s 10 employee resource groups – each representing the company’s diverse 20,000-plus workforce – conduct fundraisers in order to award scholarships to help offset the cost of higher education.

Scholarship information, including criteria and applications, is available on PG&E’s Web site, www.pge.com .

To be considered for a scholarship, all applications must be submitted by Feb. 1, 2016.

In 2015, PG&E’s Employee Resource Groups awarded a record $429,000 in scholarships – a more than 25 percent increase over 2014 – to 176 deserving students. Many recipients are the first in their families to attend college.

Since 1989, more than $4 million in scholarships have been awarded to thousands of recipients. The funds come from employee donations, fundraising events and Campaign for the Community, the company’s employee giving program.       

“The scholarships recognize and honor the incredible work of so many students in their schools and communities while helping cut the cost of college,” said PG&E Director of Performance and Inclusion Joyce Ibardolasa, who’s also the board president of the Employee Community Fund, the umbrella charitable organization that provides governance for the ERG scholarships.

More than 5,000 PG&E employees belong to these groups. Each group helps contribute to the company’s commitment to serving its communities and growing employee engagement.

PG&E’s 10 ERGs include:

·         Access Network (individuals with disabilities);
·         Asian;
·         Black;
·         Latino;
·         Legacy (tenured employees);
·         NuEnergy (new employees);
·         PrideNetwork (LGBT employees);
·         Samahan (Filipino);
·         Veterans;
·         Women’s Network.

In addition to the ERG scholarships, PG&E offers scholarships through its Bright Minds Scholarship Program, targeting high achieving, low-income students, and the Pacific Service Employees Association (PSEA), a nonprofit mutual benefit organization serving employees and retirees of PG&E, and providing scholarships for dependents of company employees.

ERG scholarship recipients also are encouraged to apply for summer internships within the company. PG&E set a record this year by employing 280 interns in the company’s various lines of business.

PG&E interns receive practical experience with real-world projects, while receiving an inside track to full-time employment within the company.