■ Community Action Council, Education Foundation are Benicia beneficiaries

Twenty children’s charity organizations, mostly from Solano County, were awarded a combined $345,000 in grants, the Valero Benicia Refinery’s share of $9 million raised last March in the 2014 Valero Texas Open and Benefit for Children Golf Classic in San Antonio, Texas.

Check presentations, based on refinery employees’ nominations, were made Tuesday in the Benicia Veterans Memorial Hall.

Benicia Education Foundation, which will use its grant for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programs in all Benicia public schools and elementary school libraries, received the largest grant, $40,000.

Originally formed in 1981 by parents, who later revived the organization in 2005, the community-run foundation raises money to support education, and is the only education foundation that helps children in all seven of Benicia’s public schools, from kindergarten to 12th grade.

The foundation, which raises its own funds with its Benicia Run For Education races, uses its money to bolster areas that have been dropped from the California education budget.

Benicia Community Action Council, which addresses many of the needs of low-income Benicia residents, received the next highest grant, $25,000.

For children in particular, the group provides scholarships so disadvantaged youth can attend a summer camping program.

The Community Action Council will use a portion of the grant for children to receive vocational training support, swimming program scholarships and assistance in reading.

Six charities, all outside of Benicia, received $20,000 scholarships.

The Bay Area Crisis Nursery, Concord, will use its money to prevent the abuse and neglect of children by providing support to families who are in crisis or experiencing distress.

The Boys and Girls Club of El Sobrante will provide after-school and weekend enrichment programs to encourage reading, mathematics, art, technology and sports skills.

Camp Taylor, in Turlock, provides free summer camps for children with heart disease. At these camps, medical supervision is available so the children can participate in multiple camp activities.

Continentals of Omega Boys and Girls Club, in Vallejo, offers training in academics, technology, nutrition, sports and other areas at its clubhouse.

The Matt Garcia Foundation in Fairfield fills a gap in a city that has no boys or girls club. Its grant will support after-school activities at the Matt Garcia Learning Center.

Vacaville Neighborhood Boys and Girls Club will use its $20,000 grant for after-school and summer enrichment programs.

Eight more charities, many of which provide services throughout Solano County and, in some cases, other San Francisco Bay Area communities, received $15,000 grants Tuesday morning.

Child Haven, based in Fairfield, provides mental health services, such as early intervention, education and professional assistance, for Solano County’s at-risk children and those from nearby counties.

The Children’s Nurturing Project, also in Fairfield, uses a home- and community-based approach in working with high-risk families, those needing early childhood and school-based mental health help. Other programs give parents one-on-one mentoring and group support.

The Court Appointed Special Advocates of Solano County will use its money to provide advocates for abused, neglected or other troubled children who are involved in the court system, and for training for its volunteers. The organization also promotes awareness about child abuse and neglect.

The East Bay College Fund, another $15,000 grant recipient, provides scholarship, help in getting into college, mentoring and college counseling to low-income students.

One college student who has benefited from the fund, Hugo Torres, told the audience Tuesday, “When I was in fifth grade, I dreamed of being a doctor.”

He received help from the fund after his college graduation, and since then has become an emergency medical technician who is about to apply for medical school.

Harbor House, of Oakland, provides after-school tutoring, a summer camp and a youth leadership and job training program as well as other services to low-income youth.

Loma Vista Farm, a 5-acre outdoor classroom in Vallejo, gives children the chance to participate in educational activities involving plants and animals.

Royal Family Kids Camp, which has multiple sites in California including Concord and Brentwood, has a week-long program for children in foster care to have fun and positive experiences. In addition, the program gives those children year-round mentoring.

Take Wings Foundation, San Francisco, provides training, internships, community service opportunities and scholarships to girls 13 to 18 who live in at-risk communities.

A final four charities received $10,000 each.

One of those is the Children’s Music and Arts Foundation, represented Tuesday by Stan Houston, owner of ABC Music, 739 First St., and Ian Cochran, a music teacher. The foundation assures children of school band opportunities even if their schools don’t offer music classes.

“It’s not about music,” Houston said, explaining that the experience of learning music helps children perform better in mathematics and language, and helps them with social skills as well.

Some of the children who have gone through the program may not have stayed in band classes, but they are making all A grades in high school, Houston said.

As with other things, music trends change, and Cochran said more children are asking to play saxophone this year and fewer are interested in trombones. “I’m a trumpet player,” he said, and encouraged students to take up that instrument.

The Northern California Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation will use its grant for research and treatment for children who are being treated in Bay Area pediatric care centers.

Horseplay Therapeutic Riding Center in Vacaville, another $10,000 recipient, will spend its money on helping lower-income children who are challenged mentally, physically and emotionally through equine therapy.

Junior Achievement of Northern California will train volunteers to help youth learn about managing money and other business skills.

Valero Energy Corporation, of which the local refinery is part, manufactures and markets transportation fuels, other petrochemical products and power.

This isn’t the only charitable contribution the company and local refinery makes, said John Hill, vice president and general manager of the Benicia plant.

He said his employees had hoped to raise $405,000 for United Way; with a week to go, they’ve exceeded that. After their contributions are matched 50 cents to the dollar by Valero, the Benicia refinery will be giving at least $630,000 to United Way, Hill said.

For the past 13 years, the enery company has used the Benefit for Children’s Golf Classic, in conjunction with the Valero Texas Open, to raise $90.5 million for children’s charities spread out across the country.

The golf tournament is one of the top charitable fundraisers on the PGA tour.

Since 2001, the Benicia refinery has given more than $4.2 million locally from its share of the tournament money.

Once the Benicia refinery learns how much it gets to award, its employees began nominating charities, Sue Fisher Jones, the refinery’s public affairs manager, said.

Those selections are reviewed and narrowed by an employees committee.

“You are super charities,” Fisher Jones told members of the organizations that filled the Veterans Memorial Hall. “You are my heroes.”