A lot of people talk about increasing STEM programming for young people, especially in underrepresented populations. But, few of us actually walk the walk. Well, the same cannot be said for The Society for Science & the Public. Recently, they lent their support to five organizations through their STEM Action Grants Program.
The organization gave $20,000 to nonprofit organizations that provide a love of science, technology engineering, and math in novel, innovative ways. These fields need young great minds, and all children deserve a chance to be exposed and inspired to follow their love of science.
The grant recipients are
Codella (www.codella.org) in Miami which works to inspire Hispanic middle school girls to enter STEM fields. They "provide a girls–only environment built for learning and exploring the fundamentals of Computer Science, Digital Literacy, and Leadership Development." The grant money will be used to fund equipment for a podcast to produce weekly STEM news podcasts in Spanish and English by and for the girls.
Electric Girls (www.electricgirls.org) in New Orleans hosts summer camps, after-school programs, in-school programs, one-day workshops and weekend programs to inspire young girls in technology fields.
Learn Fresh (www.learnfresh.org) in Denver aims to improve student engagement and achievement through innovative, fun and effective educational tools such as "NBA Math Hoops" - a basketball game with a math curriculum that uses real statistics about professional basketball players. Their mission is to make learning fun for everyone.
LITAS for Girls (www.litas4girls.org) in Arizona inspires middle school girls to pursue computer science and STEM careers. They say "We don’t just teach girls to code–we teach them to code with a purpose. More than coding, LITAS aims to mold girls to be the next generation of leaders in CS+STEM, with both the creativity to come up with game-changing ideas and the skills to implement them. By teaching teamwork, brainstorming, and presentation skills alongside computer science, the goal of the program is to build confidence in girls and give them the tools to use computer science to build something to better the world."
ProjectCSGIRLS (www.projectcsgirls.com) in Virginia runs a national computer science competition for middle school girls. They state "We believe that nurturing an interest in science, math, and technology during the critical middle school period will help them to better see themselves as the future leaders of tomorrow."
Five fantastic non-profits that not only support STEM but, do it in incredibly interesting, novel and effective ways. Money well spent, indeed.
