Amazon is donating $1 million to Washington
STEM – to support their work in making STEM more accessible,
equitable, and meaningful for every Washington student, especially
those furthest from opportunity – and $1 million to Pacific Science
Center – to develop a new computer science curriculum and expand
outreach to 200,000 students in low-income communities
The donation is part of Amazon Future Engineer
– a childhood to career program aimed at expanding computer science
access to more students from underserved and underrepresented
communities across the country
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) today announced a $2 million total donation
to two Washington nonprofit organizations working to make STEM and
computer science education more accessible, equitable, and
meaningful for hundreds of thousands of Washington State students,
especially those from underserved and underrepresented communities.
The donation includes $1 million to Washington STEM, a statewide
nonprofit organization that advances excellence, innovation and
equity in STEM for all Washington students, and $1 million to the
Pacific Science Center (PacSci), a nonprofit focused on igniting
curiosity and enabling access to science education.
“We are thrilled to support more hard-working, curious students
by helping improve equitable access to STEM and computer science
education in our home state of Washington,” said Jeff Wilke, CEO
Worldwide Consumer, Amazon. “We are excited to work with Washington
STEM and PacSci – leaders in STEM and computer science education –
as they work to create the resources, access, and innovative
opportunities Washington students need to build their best futures,
from Seattle to Spokane.”
Washington STEM will use the gift to support their work to
ensure all students, regardless of skin color, income, or gender,
have access to the education and opportunities that will help them
thrive in family-wage careers in Washington State. The funds will
help fill systems-level gaps—from childhood-to-career—specifically
focused on students of color, students from low-income backgrounds,
students living in rural areas, and girls and young women.
PacSci will use the gift to grow Science On Wheels (SOW), its
flagship outreach program that builds excitement for science,
technology, engineering, and math through interactive workshops,
live stage shows, and portable exhibits in schools, libraries, and
community centers throughout Washington State. PacSci will increase
the number of students that SOW serves in low-income Title I
schools. PacSci will also add a computer science curriculum to go
along with the existing curriculums, which will teach core concepts
and key practices in computational thinking.
“By 2030, 70 percent of all Washington jobs offering a family
wage will require education beyond high school in the form of
certificates, apprenticeships, two-year and four-year degrees.
Two-thirds of these jobs will require STEM skills,” said Angela
Jones, CEO, Washington STEM. “But when you look at the data, only
40 percent of our state’s youth are on track to obtain the
education they’ll need to access these STEM careers. Amazon’s
investment will help close the gaps we know exist – create access
for students of color, rural students, students from low-income
backgrounds, and young women – and help put Washington students on
pathways to Washington jobs.”
“Pacific Science Center is committed to providing everyone with
access to experiences that cultivate curiosity, discovery,
experimentation, and critical thinking,” said Will Daugherty,
president and CEO, Pacific Science Center. “Science On Wheels has
delivered high-quality science education throughout the state of
Washington for almost 50 years. With Amazon’s investment and
ongoing partnership, Science On Wheels will have more impact than
ever, especially in the schools and communities where resources are
most scarce. We look forward to working together to serve students,
families, and schools in this region.”
“Giving our students access to a modern STEM education will lead
them to rich, successful and meaningful careers in Washington’s
modern economy,” said Sen. Lisa Wellman (D-Mercer Island). “I’m
grateful to Washington STEM and the Pacific Science Center for
providing these educational opportunities and to Amazon for
providing funding to help these organizations expand and grow.”
Washington STEM is a statewide nonprofit organization working in
partnership with ten regional STEM Networks and statewide partners
to increase equitable access to STEM education and opportunity.
Washington STEM has a long-term vision of increasing equitable
access from childhood-to-career with a focus on students of color,
students living in rural areas, and students from low-income
backgrounds. Through their Early STEM initiative, Washington STEM
is supporting teachers, families, and caregivers in engaging more
frequently and directly with children in math – giving students the
best start possible in school and life. Through their Career
Pathways initiative, Washington STEM is working with business,
education, and community partners to expose and prepare students
for exciting careers in tech, advanced manufacturing, healthcare,
agriculture, construction, maritime and other high-demand
industries in which STEM fuels innovation, economic mobility and
job growth.
PacSci’s mission is to ignite curiosity and fuel a passion for
discovery, experimentation, and critical thinking. Their
award-winning, interactive programs serve nearly 1 million people
each year throughout the state of Washington in their communities,
in classrooms, at the Mercer Slough Environmental Education Center
in Bellevue, and at its seven-acre campus at Seattle Center. PacSci
is deeply committed to expanding access to science for
traditionally underrepresented and underserved children and
families. During the 2018-19 school year, PacSci’s Science On
Wheels outreach program served more than 115,000 students in 31 of
Washington’s 39 counties. More than 60,000 of these students were
in Title I schools in low-income communities.
Amazon is committed to bringing more resources to children and
young adults to help them build their best future. Amazon has
invested more than $50 million to increase access to computer
science/STEM education and has donated more than $20 million to
organizations that promote computer science/STEM education across
the country. Amazon’s primary computer science access program,
Amazon Future Engineer, is a four-part childhood-to-career program
intended to inspire, educate, and prepare children and young adults
from underrepresented and underserved communities to try computer
science. Each year, Amazon Future Engineer aims to inspire hundreds
of thousands of young people to explore computer science; awards
dozens of schools Amazon Future Engineer Robotics Grants, provides
over 100,000 young people in over 2,000 high schools access to
Intro or AP Computer Science courses; awards 100 students with
four-year $10,000 scholarships, as well as offers guaranteed and
paid Amazon internships to gain work experience, and forms unique
partnerships with trusted institutions to bring new coding
experiences to students. There are currently more than 40 high
schools across Washington State that are part of the Amazon Future
Engineer high school program, and three Washington State students
won our Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship last year. There are
more than 30 schools in Washington who received the Amazon Future
Engineer Robotics grant.
About Amazon
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather
than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to
operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews,
1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment
by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets,
Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and
services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit
amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.
About Amazon in the Community
Amazon is committed to helping more children and young adults,
especially those from underrepresented and underserved communities,
have the resources and skills they need to build their best future.
Amazon focuses on building long-term, innovative, and high impact
programs that leverage Amazon’s unique assets and culture.
Initiatives include Amazon Future Engineer, designed to inspire and
excite tens of thousands of children and young adults from
underserved and underrepresented communities each year to try
computer science, as well as programs that support immediate needs,
including addressing family homelessness through donations and
housing a homeless shelter in its Seattle headquarters, as well as
global relief efforts for people in need following natural
disasters.
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