Southern Oregon’s largest youth development organization is making a difference. An award from T-Mobile brings recognition of Kids Unlimited’s mission to the company’s nationwide platforms.

KU hosted representatives from T-Mobile Sept. 4 on its Medford campus for a donation presentation. KU was the only Oregon organization selected in T-Mobile’s latest round of Difference Maker Award recipients in the company’s Mountain West area. The recognition came with a $10,000 donation to KU from T-Mobile.

“T-Mobile’s Difference Maker Award is a quarterly recognition program the Un-carrier started in 2023 to recognize top-ranked employees in business performance areas across the company,” said Lyssa Hansen, senior communications manager.

The Difference Maker Award incentivizes staff in all T-Mobile stores, call centers, virtual retail and even its technical engineering, said Derrick Seay, T-Mobile rural market manager. As part of the initiative, T-Mobile employees select nonprofit organizations they are most passionate about — five total award recipients per area — pledge a total of $50,000 in donations and participate in a day of service. T-Mobile is based in Bellevue, Wash.

T-Mobile’s recognition of KU builds on their existing partnership for the annual Southern Oregon Open benefit basketball tournament in Medford. T-Mobile has sponsored the event’s free-throw contest since 2022.

Other organizations who received awards in T-Mobile’s Mountain West area are Canines with a Cause in Salt Lake City, Faces of Hope in Meridian, Idaho, and Idaho Humane Society and Ronald McDonald House, both in Boise. So far this year, T-Mobile employees have provided funding to organizations across Colorado, California, Hawaii and Washington.