General Electric Company

GE Awards $200,000 for Environmental Projects; GE Volunteers Support Community Environmental Projects

April 21, 2000

The GE Fund, the philanthropic

arm of the General Electric Company, today announced nearly $200,000 in grants

for environmental stewardship and education programs across the nation. In

addition, volunteers from GE Elfun chapters around the globe will be

supporting community environmental projects as part of the celebration of

Earth Day 2000.

The grants are the first in the GE Fund’s Environmental Stewardship

Program, which supports projects with strong environmental education and

volunteerism components.

“The projects supported by the GE Fund’s Environmental Stewardship Program

will bring together GE employees and community leaders to restore habitat or

protect natural resources, bolster environmental education programs and

expand outdoor recreational opportunities,” said Stephen Ramsey, GE’s vice

president of Corporate Environmental Programs. “GE employees and the GE Fund

are proud to support these outstanding environmental stewardship and education

projects.”

The grant recipients are:

Cuyahoga Valley Environmental Education Center (CVEEC), Cleveland Ohio,

$25,000

CVEEC is a leading environmental educator in the Cleveland area and this

grant will enable it to expand its programs to urban schools. The grant will

be used to recruit additional staff, provide teacher training and coordinate

field trips for urban youth to CVEEC. Urban teachers and students will apply

their environmental education through an “action project” such as building an

inner city community garden. GE volunteers from the Cleveland Elfun chapter

support this project.

Friends of the Rio Grande Nature Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico, $24,992

The grant will help create a critical wetland habitat along the

Rio Grande. The funds also will be used to help develop an education and

mentoring program focused on earth sciences for local high school students.

Mill Creek Restoration Project (MCRP), Cincinnati, Ohio, $25,000

The grant will help create a critical wetland habitat along Mill Creek.

The grant funds also will help develop an environmental education and

mentoring program for local high school students. GE volunteers have had a

long-standing partnership with MCRP since its creation in 1994 and will

continue to support this Fund-supported project.

Monterey Bay Salmon and Trout Project, Davenport, California, $20,283

The grant will support the Salmon and Trout Education Program (STEP), with

a focus on improving the curriculum for training teachers. The Monterey Bay

Salmon and Trout Project provides students with hands-on learning experiences

about the Coho salmon, steelhead and Chinook salmon. To date, STEP has been

successfully implemented in more than 82 schools in central California,

reaching more than 75,000 children. This project is supported by more than

6,000 GE volunteer hours each year.

Tampa BayWatch, Inc., St. Petersburg, Florida, $25,000

The grant will support the construction of two new coastal marsh nurseries

within Pinellas and Hillsborough county high schools. GE volunteers will work

on all aspects of the program through participation at the schools’ nurseries

and restoration planting projects around Tampa Bay.

The Dry Stone Masonry Institute of America, Lexington, Kentucky, $25,000

The grant will help restore 900 feet of the Vaughn’s Branch streambank

channel and will provide dry stone masons, engineers, students and volunteers

a hands-on experience in dry stone mason construction. Volunteers from the GE

Lexington Lamp Plant and several other businesses in Kentucky will work with

Lafayette High School and the community on the project.

Waukesha Land Conservancy (WLC), Brookfield, Wisconsin, $18,000

The grant will improve marsh hawk habitat at the Land Conservancy’s Marsh

Hawk Preserve. The GE Medical Systems Employee Conservation Club will assist

WLC with the installation of signs, property enhancement projects, Marsh Hawk

inventories, biological inventories and conservation easement training.

Still River Project-City of Danbury, Danbury Conn., $20,800

The grant will fund Phase 2 of the construction of the Still River

Greenway for the following purposes:

— Installation of educational signs along the river corridor, keyed to a

brochure that explains the functions of the river and flood plan

— Installation of wildlife observation viewing areas along the trail

— Design of the Still River Museum, which will be sited along the trail.

GE Elfun volunteers were instrumental in providing the labor,

materials, and logistical planning during Phase 1 and will continue to

support Phase 2 of the project.

The GE Fund works to improve the well-being of people around the world.

The Fund made grants totaling more than $35 million in 1999.

GE Elfun is a global organization of more than 40,000 GE employees and

retirees who are committed to improving their communities, their company and

their lives through volunteerism. Elfun has 105 chapters in GE locations

worldwide. In addition to the GE Fund programs, thousands of Elfuns will be

participating in environmental stewardship and education projects around the

globe this spring. Examples include:

— The Beijing Elfun Chapter will participate in the “Hand in Hand Earth

Village” to encourage recycling among elementary students.

— The Canadian Central and West Elfun Chapter in Toronto will be working

with Streetsville Secondary School on habitat restoration, land cleanup and

beautification projects.

— The Downeast Chapter in Somersworth, N.H., will participate in an Earth

Day partnership with the City of Somersworth to beautify City Hall Park and to

build nature trails, canoe launch and family picnic areas leading to Salmon

River Falls.

— The Hawkeye Chapter in West Burlington, Iowa, is participating in a

roadside cleanup project to be assisted by local high school students.

The Hungary Chapter is supporting a cleanup of a site in the Balaton National

Park.

— The Indonesian Chapter is sponsoring field trips and educational

sessions to Bidadari Island and conservation park for school children.

— The Mountaineer Chapter in Parkersburg, West Virginia, is providing

landscaping improvements for a local elementary school and is participating in

Earth Day activities with local school children.

— The Pittsburgh Chapter is supporting an environmental and historical

boat outing with a local Boy Scout pack.

— The Twin Cities Chapter in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, is assisting with a

cleanup and family picnic in Staring Lake Park.

— The Vicenza, Italy, Chapter is supporting a project to rebuild a park

area to allow for increased use by persons with disabilities.