The Ripken Foundation has teamed up with the Tennessee Valley Authority to install a brand new STEM Center at the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley's Vestal Club. Each Ripken Foundation STEM Center comes fully-equipped with state-of-the-art educational products, technology and storage, and the Ripken STEM Curriculum Guidebook. The Ripken Foundation will also provide training to the teachers/mentors, and an opportunity for the kids to participate in the National STEM Challenge.
"We're excited to partner with the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation to help provide opportunities for children across our region," said TVA Executive Vice President and Chief External Relations Officer Jeanette Mills. She continued, "Our commitment to STEM has always been at the heart of TVA's mission, and this new initiative gives us the chance to make an even more tangible impact and investment on the future of the STEM workforce."
Thanks to this $1.1 million partnership with TVA, 27 locations in seven states will receive STEM Centers stocked with Chromebooks, 3D printers, Furniture, Bee-Bots, and more. "I believe that we can do a lot of good things on our own, but with dedicated partners, we can achieve great things," said Cal at the first TVA STEM Center opening. "Our partnership with Tennessee Valley Authority is evidence of that."
Through this partnership, we are helping at-risk youth engage in age-appropriate STEM learning in a structured environment with trained mentors that make STEM learning fun. STEM education gives kids the opportunity to reap a range of positive benefits, including higher reading and math scores, increased self-esteem, higher school attendance, and decreased dropout rates.
Read more about this partnership in the Knoxville Focus's article here. To learn more about our STEM Center initiative, click here.