AtlasIED, National Systems Contractors Association Education Foundation Create Ivey’s Everyday Heroes School Grant Program
AtlasIED and National Systems Contractors Association (NSCA) Education Foundation have created a joint grant program called Ivey’s Everyday Heroes. The program’s mission is to provide financial support to individuals in schools throughout the United States who have selflessly acted in ways to keep others safe during emergency situations.
Students and faculty have been empowered to be part of the safety team through speaking up and reporting potential risks. Through Ivey’s Everyday Heroes, this grant encourages more voices, more awareness, and more communication amongst the school community. Everyday heroes can step up to deter, delay, detect, and be a leader in planning, practicing, and preparing our schools against senseless acts of violence.
Johnathan Ivey, president of AtlasIED, has instilled in his company values the importance of creating solutions that enhance school safety. “Children should not feel fear or threatened when at school. Schools are supposed to be a safe place. But, over the past decades, school violence has increased and it’s unacceptable. The technology that we developed, first under my father’s guidance and now under mine is just a small contribution to help reduce active lethal threats in schools. Ivey’s Everyday Heroes, developed in memory of my father, Loyd Ivey, helps recognize students, staff, and educators who have exhibited heroic and selfless acts to keep others safe.”
Chuck Wilson, CEO of NSCA and Board Chairman at PASS K12, helped Ivey develop the Ivey’s Everyday Heroes program. “As one of the founders of the PASS K12 program, school and student safety has always been part of my personal mission. Having been in the technology field for decades, I know that our industry has influence and is effective in protecting individuals through the products and solutions it develops. It was a natural fit for me then to take it a step further with PASS K12, to help define how the technology can be used to enhance safety and security. PASS K12 created the guidelines using an ‘all hazards’ approach to address everyday concerns,” Wilson adds. “Then when John approached me to help develop the Everyday Heroes program, I knew it was the next step for us to give back in this way.”
It’s important to note that every day, PASS K12 guidelines and checklists have made an impact on safety and awareness at schools; so much so that states have started including PASS K12 guidelines in their school safety legislation. Ivey’s Everyday Heroes will be administered through the PASS K12 organization and candidates will be identified through an application process. The application process and review board are under development, with additional details scheduled to be released soon. AtlasIED and the Ivey family’s first donation will allow the initiation of the program and for the first grants to be distributed. If you’d like to be involved in or donate to Ivey’s Everyday Heroes, please contact Chuck Wilson at NSCA (cwilson@nsca.org).