The Bosch Community Fund has announced a $125,000 grant to support two programs focused on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education. The first program continues support of the Detroit Public Schools (DPS) K-8 Education Enrichment Program focused on providing DPS students access to educational institutions, and the second to help to further advance the Michigan Science Center’s (MiSci) STEMinistas program. This contribution has elevated the Bosch Community Fund’s total giving to more than $10 million since it was launched in 2012. The grant will be administered by Culture Source, an arts and culture non-profit association based in Southeast Michigan.
“The Bosch Community Fund is focused on supporting STEM education and environmental sustainability throughout Bosch communities in the U.S.,” said Kathleen Owsley, executive director of the Bosch Community Fund. “Reaching this $10 million milestone demonstrates the level of support that Bosch has been able to provide in the more than 28 communities where we live and work.”
The first portion of the grant, $65,000 in total, is being used to continue the Detroit Public Schools K-8 Education Enrichment Program, which is focused on providing DPS students with curriculum-aligned STEM engagement experiences through local educational institutions. The program was piloted by the Cranbrook Institute of Science (CIS) in 2013 with a grant from Bosch, and now has grown to include the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum and MiSci. Total Bosch support for this project has now reached more than $500,000 and has impacted more than 5,000 DPS students.
This portion of the grant will fund MiSci’s STEM Enrichment Module, which is focused on providing all seventh-grade DPS students, approximately 3,600 in all, with hands-on education that directly aligns with the DPS curriculum for Unit 5 titled “Structures and Properties of Living Things.”
“The Bosch Community Fund’s support of STEM education in Detroit Public Schools has provided the stability in funding to allow consistent and coordinated enriching experiences for our students, that would not otherwise be possible,” said Alycia Meriweather, interim superintendent, Detroit Public Schools. “Additionally, the Bosch Community Fund’s intentional collaboration and conversation around what is most beneficial to our students has been a refreshing approach to corporate partnership.”
The second portion of the Bosch Community Fund’s grant, $60,000 in total, has been given to a program under development at MiSci, called STEMinistas. The goal of the STEMinistas program is to disrupt the loss of girls’ participation in STEM subjects in fourth through eighth grades. The group says this period of time is a crucial juncture when girls are performing at a high level in STEM subjects, but seem to lose interest or confidence in their abilities. MiSci will collaborate with Inforum and other partners to provide female professional mentors among other resources to engage students. The program will be evaluated at its completion by Wayne State University.
“CultureSource is proud to convene our members in this unique and innovative way to deliver STEM enrichment experiences to 7,000 DPS students through arts and culture,” said Pamela Iacobelli, president and CEO of CultureSource. “The Bosch Community Fund and DPS have been collaborative partners and we look forward to growing the program and reaching more students.”
Since 2012, the Bosch Community Fund has awarded more than $3 million to organizations in Metro Detroit communities, with more than a third of this amount focused specifically on students in Detroit.
