2019 Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø Action Grantees

   

The Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø & the Public announced that $65,000 in grants have been given to 20 extraordinary organizations supporting Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø education and science literacy.

The Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø Action Grant ProgramÌýaims to bolster and support community-driven nonprofit organizations that are working to enhance the public’s understanding of science and to increase participation of underrepresented populations in Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø fields.

Half of the organizations the Society is funding in 2019 previously received support from the Society, with $30,500 going to continued support. To date (including this announcement), the Society has given $170,000 to 29 organizations seeking to improve access to Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø education.

“The Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø & the Public is eager to support organizations that engage young people with Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø in innovative ways,†said Maya Ajmera, President and CEO of the Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø & the Public and Publisher ofÌýScience News. “These organizations are seeking to lower the barriers to entry in Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø fields, ensuring students from all backgrounds are provided an opportunity to explore Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø fields and have meaningful experiences.â€

The following organizations are awardees of the 2019 Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø Action Grant Program:

 

  • Ìý(Owing Mills, MD) will receiveÌý$5,000Ìýto support the foundation’s mission to empower and engage young, underrepresented girls in marine Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø fields. The girls participate in many activities that cultivate science literacy and conservation; examples include building underwater remotely operated vehicles, SCUBA lessons and conservation initiatives at the local and internationalÌýefforts. This year’s grant will help fund supplies and equipment, provide staff training and participants’ capstone experience. The program capstones provide transformational experiences for youth as they explore their Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø identities. Previously, Black Girls Dive received $5,000 from the Society.
  • Ìý(Chicago, IL) will receiveÌý$5,000Ìýto support the organization’s mission to provide an inclusive, state-of-the-art refurbished lab space where anyone in Chicago’s diverse community can engage with the field of biology. Comparable to community labs across the country, this grant will help ChiTownBio to purchase essential research equipment, such as a -80 Celsius freezer and incubators for research experiments.
  • Ìý(Hammond, LA) will receiveÌý$5,000Ìýto support the group’s work to provide affordable and quality afterschool programs in southeastern Louisiana, with a special emphasis on Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø enrichment. With this grant, the organization will support an Americorps Volunteer to coordinate the use of a mobile Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø lab, also known as theÌýBrain Food Truck, which provides Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø activities for third to eighth graders in physics, coding, engineering and more.
  • Ìý(Washington, DC), a project of theÌý, will receiveÌý$2,500Ìýfrom the Society to support their mission to encourage young students to learn how to code, through annual district-wide competitions hosted by members of Congress for their district. The funds will be used for operations and staff who will work on outreach to new locations, increase student and member of Congress engagement and improve educational materials. The organization received $5,000 from the Society in 2018.
  • Ìý(New Orleans, LA) will receiveÌý$3,000Ìýfrom the Society to support the group’s mission to build girls’ confidence and capabilities in Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø during summer camps, after school programs, in-school programs and more. This 2019 grant will be used to support the Electric Girls Saturday Workshop program, a novel Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø enrichment prospect for low-income girls aged 5-14, allowing education for an additional 60 students for 10 weeks of Electric Girls Saturday Workshops. They were a grantee in 2017 and 2018 as well, totaling $7,500.
  • Ìý(New York, NY) will get aÌý$5,000Ìýgrant to support their flagship programÌý, which brings unconventional science and engineering experiences to students outside of the classroom across New York City’s underserved neighborhoods. From street fairs to farmer’s markets, HYPOTHEkids knows that science research and learning can happen outdoors. These funds will be used for the staffing and materials for STEAM the Streets events, varying in attendance and nature.
  • Ìý(Calabasas, CA) will receiveÌý$1,000Ìýto inspire middle- and high-school Latina females, especially in underserved communities, to consider pursuing a Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø career. With regional collaborations in CA, TX and NJ, the 2019 grant will support a Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø 101 conference exposing 300+ girls from Jersey City, NJ, to Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø research and careers. Additionally, they will provide 150+ parents from Paterson, NJ and Jersey City with workshops that will teach them effective ways to support their daughters in Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø. The conference will be free of charge to all attendees and their parents.
  • Ìý(Denver, CO), a recipient of a $5,000 grant in 2017, will receiveÌý$2,500Ìýto support the research, development and pilot testing of “EcoTour,” a new STEAM education program that will explore themes related to math, business management, design, and environmental and climate change science through the planning of a musical artist’s tour. In addition to research and development, funds will help develop partnerships with organizations in the music touring space to create exciting learning experiences for students.
  • Ìý(Lower Brule, SD), based on the Lower Brule Sioux Reservation, will receiveÌý$5,000Ìýto dedicate more time, training and resources to encourage Native American students to enter Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø fields. These funds will support Lower Brule’s three summer programs, which will serve 12 13-18 year old Native American students, 12 South Dakota State University undergraduate students and two adult Native American educators. This is the second grant for Lower Brule, which received $5,000 in 2018.
  • Ìý(North Charleston, SC), founded in April 2018 as a tribute to passionate educator Marie Emmanuela Alfred, will receiveÌý$2,500Ìýto build a sustainable STEAM curriculum to support their mission to provide STEAM education in Tri-County areas of Charleston, Dorchester and Berkeley, SC. In their pilot year, Marie’s Kids will focus on third grade students at North Charleston Elementary. Through continued collaboration with the school districts, Marie’s Kids hopes to enhance efforts to build and diversify the Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø pipeline by providing early interventions for elementary students with limited access to STEAM education.
  • Ìý(MPL) (Memphis, TN) will receiveÌý$5,000Ìýto support the all-encompassing goal of reducing barriers to Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø education access for minority and low-income youth in Memphis and Shelby County, TN. In order to accomplish this, funds will be used to purchase Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø equipment for MPL’sÌýStart Here!Ìýmobile technology van and program staff.ÌýThe Start Here!Ìývan is a fully-staffed learning lab on wheels that travels throughout Memphis Public Libraries’ service area to deliver innovative programming to traditionally underserved communities.
  • Ìý(Potomac Falls, VA) will receiveÌý$2,500Ìýto cultivate the organization’s national and international chapters, sponsor a 2020 national gala, increase workshop offerings and develop a new curriculum database. ProjectCSGIRLS seeks to close the gender gap in computer science and technology through a national computer science competition for middle school girls. The organization is headed by Pooja Chandrashekar, a 2015 alumna of the Society’s Science Talent Search. ÌýProjectCSGIRLS has received $17,500 in grants from the Society.
  • Ìý(Baltimore, MD) will receiveÌý$2,500Ìýto support its mission to provide diverse educational programming and vocational exposure to inner city youth. The SAFE Foundation will use the grant to expand Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø learning to about 40 students in geographic regions that are underserved and plagued by poverty, violent crimes and drug activity. The students will learn about Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø, specifically focused on mechanical, marine and naval engineering. SAFE received $5,000 from the Society in 2018.
  • Ìý(Bedford, MA) will receiveÌý$2,500Ìýto support and grow its mission to teach and inspire the next generation of scientists by improving Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø literacy. The funds will help expand the organization’s In-School Module Based (ISMB) programs, from 9,300 3rd- through 8th-grade students in 77 partner schools to over 10,000 students. The organization will also assist with teacher development, by providing content specialist instructors, who will bring challenging hands-on Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø materials into classrooms. The ISMB project will serve approximately 250 teachers and help facilitate increased parental engagement. Science from Scientists has received $12,500 in grants from the Society.
  • Ìý(SPOT) (Chicago, IL), based at Northwestern University, will receive aÌý$2,500Ìýgrant to primarily support theirÌýScience with SeniorsÌýprogram. SPOT is comprised of graduate students and postdocs in Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø-related fields who seek to enhance exposure to science in voting age populations. While many Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø outreach programs focus on children, SPOT is focused on science literacy in senior citizens. As the most dedicated voting demographic with over 90 percent of Americans aged 60+ registered to vote, this group of academic researchers are passionate about educating seniors with interactive presentations on various scientific topics, from solar cells to biology. Over the past two years,ÌýScience with SeniorsÌýhas reached 200+ senior citizens in Greater Chicago.
  • (Philadelphia, PA) will receiveÌý$2,500Ìýfrom the Society to help realize an expansion of their programs to the Midwest, grow their current platforms in Chicago and Pittsburgh and support their overall mission to strengthen U.S. science education by cultivating and sustaining partnerships between institutions of higher education and K-12 schools. University volunteers connect with students in numerous ways, such as mentoring kids with their science fair projects. Sci-Inspire currently supports an expansive infrastructure of volunteers in about 40 chapters, and previously received $12,500 in funding from the Society.
  • Ìý(Miami, FL) will receiveÌý$1,000Ìýto support their mission to engage youth of color with Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø activities in order to spark a life-long interest in Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø fields. The funds will be used for Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø kits, supplies, a 3D printer, nutrition and transportation for students in their unique program,ÌýÂé¶¹¹ÙÍø Saturdays.
  • Ìý(TEACH), (Staten Island, NY), a student-run organization founded in 2013, will receive aÌý$2,500Ìýgrant from the Society to support their efforts to creatively engage hospitalized children ages three to 21 across the country. TEACH provides children, in both inpatient and outpatient settings, and their visiting siblings with access to activities that seek to instill self-confidence and spark an interest in science. The funds will be used to expand the program by three to five branches over the next year.
  • Ìý(New York, NY), an educational and cultural museum centered on the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid, a National Historic Landmark, will receiveÌý$2,500Ìýfrom the Society. The grant will lend continued support for a popular videoconference program called Virtual Field Trips, created for students and the elderly who are unable to visit the museum physically. The grant will increase the number of Virtual Fieldtrips by hiring an additional educator, reaching an additional 6,500 underserved students. This is their second Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø Action Grant, with the program receiving $5,000 in 2018.
  • Ìý(San Antonio, TX) will receive $5,000Ìýto support their student and family-focused afterschool computer science programs, also known as school-basedÌýCommunity Code Jams, for K-12 students in cities and schools across Texas. The primary goal of their programs is to eradicate barriers and reduce the digital divide for families whose first language is not English. This Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø Action Grant will be used to translate, format and distribute materials into Spanish, servicing 1,000+ bilingual families. In addition, materials will be distributed to 50 teachers across Texas who are already running school-based jams, as well as new teachers in the 2019-2020 school year.