Financial support from Citizens Energy Group helped a local non-profit provide educational resources for youth in 2020. Through Citizens’ support, The STEM Connection was able to pivot its traditional in-person learning to offer two new programs: STEM Quick Wins and STEM Family Kits.
The mission of The STEM Connection is to facilitate hands-on, minds-on, feet-on-the-ground science, technology, engineering, and math experiences at its 30-acre Moore Road Farm on the northwest side of Indianapolis. The organization strives to engage those who are underrepresented in STEM careers: women, people of color, and people with disabilities.
The non-profit received funding from Citizens through the Corporate Sponsorship/Philanthropy Team (CS/P) after several team members toured the farm prior to the pandemic to learn more about its programming and mission.
“Visiting the facility early last year gave us insight on the positive work The STEM Connection is doing in the lives of our city’s youth, providing the first experience with nature for many students,” said Ryan Basore, who serves on the education subcommittee for the CS/P . “We witnessed their classes firsthand. It was a breath of fresh air to see the great work they are doing in an environment unlike what these students would otherwise experience.”
When visits to the farm were suspended last March due to the pandemic, The STEM Connection quickly reimagined how it could continue to serve students with the funding from Citizens.
The STEM Quick Wins weekly video series was launched on the non-profit’s Facebook and YouTube channels and featured ideas for STEM activities to do at home with readily accessible materials. Citizens provided support for five of the videos that focused on water and wastewater, all of which also can be found on Citizens’ YouTube channel.
The video series has continued, and Citizens worked with The STEM Connection to develop content for each episode throughout April, with a focus on water.
STEM Family Kits also were developed to support learning at home during the pandemic. Packaged in a reusable Citizens Energy Group bag, each kit contained activity sheets and materials to complete five different hands-on activities.
The STEM Connection estimates that Citizens’ support helped the organization reach more than 12,000 children and adults across central Indiana last year.
“The STEM Connection’s focus on hands-on learning activities aligns with Citizens’ core philanthropy initiatives, as one of our primary categories of giving is education,” Basore said. “The STEM Connection is creating a pipeline for students to learn, grow, and eventually lead in an inclusive environment.”
In addition, Citizens’ support is being used to create a Water on Earth program aimed at teaching students about the distribution of Earth’s water resources and the importance of water conservation.
“While supporting the creation of two new and accessible resources for students and families, developing a new program, and helping sustain our mission, Citizens assisted in preventing youth learning loss during a challenging time in education, said Vera Vander Kooy, Executive Director. “We appreciate the investment Citizens made that will continue to impact our work and the families and schools who look to The STEM Connection for powerful learning experiences.”
Learn more about this organization at https://linktr.ee/TheSTEMConnection.
