Mickey S. Moore, President/CEO of Southern Scholarship Foundation, has announced that the nonprofit was awarded an $11,000 Safety & Security Improvements grant from CSX Corporation. The grant money, provided by CSX’s Beyond Our Rails initiative, will go toward providing a safer living environment for the hundreds of students residing in the organization’s scholarship houses.

Southern Scholarship Foundation (SSF) requested funding for security upgrades in order to ensure the safety of its students. “The Foundation is committed to making its rent-free student community a safe and secure community as well” says Moore. SSF wants to do its part to ensure the safety of young individuals seeking to improve their lives with a college degree. By addressing emergency procedures, communication processes, and security as a whole, SSF intends to significantly improve safety on its scholarship housing campuses throughout Florida, and hopefully be a model for other organizations.

Southern Scholarship Foundation (SSF) provides rent-free housing to eligible students who attend Florida State University, University of Florida, Florida A&M University, or Florida Gulf Coast University. SSF currently operates 25 scholarship houses for 412 students across the four campuses, providing students with rent-free housing during their four years of college. This saves each student and their family up to $10,000 a year in housing costs. The scholarship is awarded to students based on financial need, academic merit, and good character and is renewable each year.

CSX Corporation, together with its subsidiaries based in Jacksonville, Fla., is one of the nation’s leading transportation suppliers. The company’s rail and intermodal businesses provide rail-based transportation services including traditional rail service and the transport of intermodal containers and trailers. Through its Beyond Our Rails initiative, CSX funds programs focusing on safety, giving, green, and wellness.

For more information about Southern Scholarship Foundation and ways to support this program, please visit www.southernscholarship.org. For more information about CSX Corporation, please visit their website at www.csx.com.