Ford and UAW Donate $200K To Fund STEAM Programs In DPS
By Edward Cardenas
DETROIT (CBS Detroit) - The Ford Motor Company Fund joined with the United Auto Workers Tuesday to donate $200,000 to support arts, music and athletics in Detroit Public Schools.
This is part of more than $1 million new scholarships, grants and career outreach programs that Ford's philanthropic arm is launching this month to further its commitment to education - especially science, technology, engineering, mathematics and the arts.
The announcement of the $200,000 donation was made at the Ford STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) Conference at the Ford Resource and Engagement Center in Detroit. This conference was a first-ever community collaboration to provide 165 Detroit middle school students with insight into the top career pathways that will sustain the economic revitalization of Southeast Michigan.
"By the year 2022, there is going to be a million jobs in the STEM field and we won't have the work force to meet it," said Shawn Wilson, manager of the multicultural community engagement for the Ford Fund. "What we wanted to do is bring in students who would be graduating from college around 2022, and expose them to careers in STEM and hopefully inspire them to want to purse a career in STEM."
The middle school students who attended the event heard from a range of speakers including NHRA driver Nicole Lyons and representatives from Usher's New Look Foundation, Code.org, Tech Town, Pony Ride.
"What we tried to do was expose them to real industry professionals who could answer those tough questions, could spark the interest in kids and uncover the passion points in them," said Wilson, of the guest speakers.
Additional scholarships and grants announced include:
- Ford College Community Challenge Grants: Ford is awarding grants worth $280,000 to 16 projects at 15 colleges and universities that support sustainable student-led projects addressing urgent community needs. Winning projects, which were announced today, address the theme of the Challenge – "Building Sustainable Communities" -- in an innovative way. The annual program is being expanded globally for the first time to include communities in China and Brazil. The Ford C3 program has awarded over $2 million in sustainable community grants since 2008.
- Ford Driving Dreams Tour: Designed to motivate students to complete high school on time and pursue higher education, the tour is launching in Chicago this week during National Hispanic Heritage Month where it will provide a total of $105,000 in scholarships and grants, assisting more than 3,800 students at seven Chicago-area high schools with significant Latino student populations. Ford Driving Dreams has provided nearly $400,000 in direct educational resources, reaching nearly 25,000 students since 2012.
- Ford Historic Black College Universities Community Challenge: The annual program works with Historic Black Colleges and Universities to fund innovative projects that are focused on building sustainable communities. The program, which is taking applications now, will award $100,000 to support five grants.
- Next Generation Learning Externships: Ford Motor Company and the United Auto Workers are collaborating on a program that brings high school teachers into the auto industry so teachers can better instruct students on real-world work scenarios. Additional details about the program will be released Wednesday, Oct. 8, at the Ford Next Generation Learning convention in Louisville, Kentucky.
