The Toyota USA Foundation has awarded a $150,000 grant to National 4-H Council. The award has helped underwrite Building Wonder in Math and Science, an innovative science, engineering and technology initiative designed to enhance science and math literacy.
To date, Building Wonder in Math and Science has served more than 2,200 students in diverse after-school programs in four states (Hawaii, Maryland, New York, Wyoming), focusing on underrepresented young women and minority middle school youth, including those residing in Native American communities.
The Toyota grant has allowed for Building Wonder in Math and Science to be integrated into the curriculum of 4-H Afterschool, a national program aimed at creating safe, healthy, enriching after-school environments that enhance young people's social, emotional, physical and academic success. Through 4-H Afterschool, 4-H develops and implements after-school programs and works with other youth-serving organizations to increase the quality and quantity of after-school programs in communities across the country. There are currently more than 8,500 4-H Afterschool sites across the country.
"We're delighted to support 4-H, America's premier youth development organization," said Patricia Pineda, Group Vice President of Toyota Motor North America. "Toyota has always placed an emphasis on science and math education, areas that are providing many new career opportunities and becoming important drivers of our economy. Through real-world, hands-on experiences, 4-H programs have demonstrated their effectiveness, reaching more than 400,000 youth in diverse communities last year alone through the Afterschool program. We're confident that this new initiative will help students strengthen their science and math skills and foster new generations of scientists and engineers."
"We're pleased to partner with the Toyota USA Foundation to make a positive impact on the lives of youth living in underserved communities," said Donald T. Floyd, Jr., President and CEO, National 4-H Council. "This grant enabled 4-H to provide new science and math curricula to more than 2,200 youth in 4-H Afterschool programs and increased their understanding of science while developing leadership, citizenship and life skills."
In addition to National 4-H Council , other Toyota USA Foundation award recipients include: Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA; Rocking the Boat, Inc., Bronx, NY; the Saint Louis Science Center, St. Louis, MO; the Zoological Society of San Diego, San Diego, CA; Trees for Tomorrow Natural Resource Specialty School, Eagle River, WI and the University of Montana Foundation, Missoula, MT.
The Toyota USA Foundation is a $42 million charitable endowment created to support education programs serving kindergarten through 12th grade students and their teachers in the United States. The Foundation's emphasis is on supporting mathematics and science. For additional information about the Toyota USA Foundation, visit www.toyota.com/foundation.
4-H is a community of more than seven million young people across America involved in learning leadership, citizenship and life skills. National 4-H Council is the national, private sector, non-profit partner of the 4-H Youth Development Program and its parent, the Cooperative Extension System of the United States Department of Agriculture.