From Sound Engineering to Financial Literacy, American Honda Foundation Supports STEAM Education Programs for Students
TORRANCE, Calif., Oct. 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Building on its mission of supporting youth and scientific education, the American Honda Foundation has awarded grants totaling more than $700,000 to nonprofits from across the U.S. during the spring and summer funding periods to support programming with specific emphasis on science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM), as well as the environment.
"A key focus of the American Honda Foundation is to support the success of young people and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers," said Alexandra Warnier, executive director of the American Honda Foundation. "We commend the Foundation's grant recipients on their incredible efforts to provide students with experiential STEAM learning opportunities."
The funding from the American Honda Foundation will help to enhance and diversify STEAM education programs in Alabama, California, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts and New York. Grant recipients for the first half of the Foundation's fiscal year include:
-- CEC Stuyvesant Cove, Inc. (dba Solar One): Through the organization's
Green Design Lab program and curriculum, students, teachers and
custodial staff in the New York City school system learn about
environmental STEM subjects and work together to design and implement
feasible, creative ways to reduce their school and community's
environmental footprint. This is part of the City's overall plan to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
-- Center for Creative Education: The Center for Creative Education's
teaching artists collaborate with kindergarten through third grade
classroom teachers in Palm Beach County, Fla., to deliver curriculum
that integrates the arts such as painting, dancing, music and drama into
content areas such as science, language arts, and math. This teaching
approach boosts student engagement and long-term memory gains, with
students achieving at higher rates than non-participating peers
attending the same public schools.
-- Elementary Institute of Science: The organization's STEP-2-STEM program
provides access to high-quality STEM learning activities for students
attending 11 Title I elementary schools in the San Diego, Calif. area.
The program promotes early exposure to subjects such as biology,
computer science, chemistry and engineering to help build strong
foundations for STEM learning in later grades.
-- Imagine Science: In an effort to narrow the opportunity gap for
underserved youth, Imagine Science is a collaboration between four major
youth service organizations: Boys & Girls Clubs, Girls Inc., National
4-H Council, and Y-USA. Youth in participating Imagine Science
communities benefit from hands-on STEM activities integrated into an
array of one-time or multi-week youth development programs in hopes of
inspiring the next generation of scientific thinkers and problem
solvers.
-- Jones Valley Teaching Farm: Using food, farming and the culinary arts,
instructors deliver experiential lessons that align with academic
standards in math, science, social studies and English language arts.
Teaching Farms on school campuses in Birmingham, Ala., provide an
environment where Pre-K through 12(th) grade students can learn, create,
and grow a healthy future for themselves and their community.
-- Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired: Teens and younger kids
who are blind or have low vision are mentored by blind STEM
professionals and gain new exposure to the sciences through year-round
science enrichment activities. During the summer STEM camp at Enchanted
Hills Camp for the Blind in Napa, Calif., participants focus on general
science exploration, computer coding and environmental science. These
programs help blind students gain interest, experience and confidence
that increase academic and career success.
-- Reality Changers: With a focus on building academic performance,
leadership and soft skills, Reality Changers recruits 8(th) through
11(th) grade students from underrepresented backgrounds and sets them on
a path to become first-generation college graduates and agents of change
in their communities. Students who achieve at least a 3.5 GPA are
eligible for Academic Connections, a three-week summer residential
program at University of California, San Diego (UCSD), where they attend
STEM classes taught by UCSD faculty and earn college credits.
-- Rocking the Boat, Inc.: Students from the South Bronx, N.Y., work
together to build wooden boats, learn to row and sail, and restore local
urban waterways, revitalizing their community while creating better
lives for themselves. The program helps students develop
self-confidence, set goals and gain the skills necessary to achieve
them.
-- SIFMA (Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association) Foundation
for Investor Education: Through its flagship financial literacy program,
The Stock Market Game, SIFMA is working to address declining math test
scores and encourage financial education across the state of
Massachusetts. Students in fourth through 12(th) grades receive
hypothetical funds to purchase stocks, bonds and mutual funds, while
studying current events to assess the impact on the market and their own
portfolios.
-- Two-Bit Circus Foundation: Providing support to teachers in the Lynwood
Unified School District in California, the Foundation offers virtual
STEM and STEAM trainings, kits and other resources to engage students
through remote learning. Each project is standards-aligned and designed
to teach, inspire and call on students' creativity and critical thinking
skills.
-- Urban Teachers: Operating in Baltimore, Washington, D.C. and Dallas,
Urban Teachers is a national teacher development program that recruits
and prepares effective educators for children in urban schools. This
four-year program equips novice educators with the tools and knowledge
to empower children through learning and to stay in the teaching
profession. A key priority for the organization is preparing Black and
Latinx educators who draw on their own backgrounds and experiences to
accelerate academic and life outcomes of urban children.
-- Women's Audio Mission: With a mission to change the face of sound by
addressing the underrepresentation of women in creative technology
careers, Women's Audio Mission's Girls on the Mic program uses music and
media to inspire and engage more than 2,500 underserved girls ages 11 to
18 from Title I schools in the San Francisco Bay Area. Afterschool
sessions are held five days a week to introduce girls to careers in
sound engineering. Students learn critical thinking and problem-solving
skills by completing STEM projects like developing and recording
podcasts, building small synthesizers and creating interactive music
using coding apps.
Since its establishment in 1984, the American Honda Foundation has awarded more than $43 million to organizations serving over 118 million people across the U.S. To learn more about the Foundation's grant application process, visit www.honda.com/community/applying-for-a-grant.
About Honda Corporate Social Responsibility
For more than 60 years in the U.S., Honda has been committed to conducting its business in a sustainable manner and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. In addition, Honda strives to strengthen our communities in many ways, by giving back to society and the communities where its associates work and live. Accordingly, Honda believes in helping people reach their life's potential through its focus on helping children heal, inspiring underrepresented students, preserving the environment for future generations, Safety for Everyone and strengthening our communities. Learn more at http://csr.honda.com/.
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