The CHALLENGE
When the pandemic hit, many families experienced layoffs, reduced work hours, or other financial burdens. Families – including those who experienced hardships due to the pandemic, and those that were already struggling prior to the pandemic – needed supports. But with children being sent to learn from home, they could no longer make use of the services and tools offered by their schools.
During this time of unprecedented change, youth needed as many supports as possible – for their own wellbeing, and that of their families.
We have also supported Education Bank in launching their FIRST® LEGO® League Team. This robotics program allows youth to explore STEM through robotics design challenges while also tapping into and developing their teamwork, communication, and creative abilities. We provided their team with our program workbook, resources, and other guidance so that they could launch their team.
Lastly, we have supported their work by providing STEAM Hub Scholarships. STEAM Hub is our online learning platform, which allows youth aged 8+ to explore various STEAM topics at their own pace, including video game design, coding, art & media, robotics, and more. In 2021, we provided $7,500 in scholarships for their community.
The SOLUTION
Our partnership with Canada’s first Education Bank was sparked when our founder and CEO, Anu Bidani, came across their call for support during the pandemic. The Education Bank supports families from across the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) by providing urgently needed learning resources and school materials. The idea originated with the need to support families on a fixed income through COVID–19.
After connecting with Theresa Pastore, founder of Education Bank, STEM Minds began supporting their mission to support families in need by providing resources, building community, and empowering learning.
To date, we’ve supported Education Bank in a few key ways. We donated STEM project kits for their camps and provided access to our 3D Design Competition for their community. To foster engagement, we supported their staff in setting up 3D printers in their facilities and working with youth to print their innovative and creative designs.
The OUTCOME
We are very proud to be partnering with Education Bank to help families in need in our local community. Our work at STEM Minds is driven by the transformative power that education holds, and partnering with Education Bank to provide resources for families who otherwise would not be able to access them has been incredibly rewarding and important for our team.
We are excited to be supporting Education Bank in 2022 to continue making STEM learning accessible for everybody in our community. Thus far, we have donated $15,000 worth of STEAM Hub Scholarships to Education Bank. We are also in the process of coordinating a field trip to our facilities for their robotics team. We can’t wait to explore STEM with these students!
