| Alaska Development Corporation | Juneau, AK | $50,000 | 2025 | Alaska Development Corporation supports the Program Delivery Organization for Alaska, JEDC, to provide robotics programs to K-12th grade students in over 70 communities. Teams at each level end their season with an in-person or remote tournament or festival with the excitement of a sporting event run by hundreds of volunteers statewide. |
| Angel City Aerospace Foundation | Inglewood, CA | $30,000 | 2025 | Angel City Aerospace Foundation's program consists of mentorship and training opportunities for youth, producing and attending community events and attending career days at different schools and raising awareness and connecting youth to mental health resources. |
| Fly Compton Aeronautical Education Foundation | Compton, CA | $20,000 | 2025 | The Flight Adventures program, developed by Fly Compton Foundation, offers an innovative and immersive learning experience designed to introduce youth to the principles and procedures of flight through the use of virtual reality (VR) headsets. This cutting-edge educational initiative combines technology with aviation education to inspire and educate the next generation of pilots, engineers, and aviation enthusiasts. |
| United Way of King County | Seattle, WA | $20,000 | 2025 | United Way of King County's postsecondary initiative, Bridge To Finish, disrupts poverty by connecting students living in poverty with financial tools to meet their basic needs while they pursue a college degree or certificate. Key components of the program include: -One-time emergency grants that are coordinated with other financial assistance and resources to ensure students can stay in school. -Benefits Hubs, as locations are called, are accessible both on campus and online. -Financial tools are the foundation of the program. Students can access coaching, assistance with financial aid, public benefit enrollment, and much more. |
| YMCA of Greater Seattle | Seattle, WA | $20,000 | 2025 | The Charlie LaBenz Youth Development Center was designed to address this need in South King County, providing a space specifically designed for teens in this region to hang out and be themselves. The Center offers games, art supplies, computers, music production equipment, and athletic equipment for teens to access on a drop-in basis. The Center also offers targeted programming; for example, a Learning Lab where high school students can access structured workshops and unstructured study assistance. Moreover, through its dedicated staff members, the Center offers safe and trustworthy adult mentors for young people who may not have positive adults elsewhere in their lives. Through programming at the Center, young people receive many opportunities to develop their physical, social, emotional, and cognitive abilities. |
| Silicon Valley Education Foundation | San Jose, CA | $15,000 | 2025 | SVEF is deploying a pathways-based version of [CS] Innovate. The program features a Cybersecurity Pathway and a Dual Enrollment Pathway for former or current [CS] Innovate students who do not have access to master schedules that offer opportunities to explore computer science (CS). [CS] Innovate takes a multidisciplinary approach to building students' competencies and CS skills; and to cultivating their interest and preparation for CS and CS-adjacent careers through: - a structured and comprehensive curriculum that covers foundational, intermediate, advanced, and specialized CS topics - a deepened focus on growth mindset, sense of belonging, and equity - industry-level career-connected learning opportunities, career preparation, and mentorship - certification examinations that enable students to earn credentials necessary to land entry-level positions in cybersecurity and networking careers |
| Hawaii First Robotics | Honolulu, HI | $15,000 | 2025 | FIRST prepares young people for the future through a suite of inclusive, team-based robotics programs for ages 4-18 (PreK-12). Our programs are suitable for schools or structured afterschool activities and receive support from a vast network of volunteers, educators, and sponsor/donors. Because our programs are More Than Robots, FIRST participants are guided by a signature set of Core Values to conduct research, fundraise, design, build, and showcase their achievements. Our thrilling, sports-like challenges build their self-confidence and collaborative problem-solving skills and have a proven and lasting impact on STEM learning and interest. Our participants and alumni gain access to education and career discovery opportunities, connections to exclusive scholarships and employers, and a place in the FIRST community for life. |
| Adult Friends for Youth | Honolulu, HI | $15,000 | 2025 | The `O Ke Ala Maluhia is a project that combines the components of leadership development, self-empowerment, critical thinking, and soft skills such as social-emotional learning and healthy coping strategies. The concept of the project started as a pilot that allowed AFY youth to travel outside of Hawaii and be exposed to different cultures and ways of life and thinking. ways of life and thinking. |
| Alliance for Education | Seattle, WA | $12,000 | 2025 | Alliance for Education is providing Black male students with career-connected learning opportunities that offer the resources and supports they seek to be college and career ready. The Office of AAMA's vision is that the next generation of Black male graduates of SPS will be connected with skills, hands-on experiences, mentors and advocates, and tech sector expertise to successfully launch their college and career pathways. Strategies include connecting students with postsecondary scholarships, internship and externship opportunities, experiential education, and college and career mentoring. Cross-departmental alignment of resources and increased access to opportunities and supports about career-connected learning and college and career readiness will be our primary areas of focus. |
| Washington FIRST Robotics | Kent, WA | $10,000 | 2025 | This project focuses on rural school districts, low-income students, and, where possible, minority youth across underserved pockets of the state. Grant funds will be designated toward capacity building for expansion in Title 1 schools and districts that do not currently have STEM afterschool programs in place in order to serve the community members who felt the effects of the pandemic-related learning loss and prolonged isolation the hardest. FIRST Washington will develop 12 new program teams (6 FLL, 4 FTC, and 2 FRC) in areas that currently do not have similar afterschool STEM programming. In addition, we will provide support to 10 existing program teams that are struggling to raise all the funds needed to participate. |
| Aha Punana Leo | Hilo, HI | $10,000 | 2025 | The Aha Punana Leo, Inc. (APL) is a Native Hawaiian nonprofit organization established in 1983 with a vision of "E Ola Ka Olelo Hawaii" (The Hawaiian Language Shall Live). Our mission is to drive and inspire change to ensure a living Hawaiian language in Hawaii and beyond. The ultimate goal is to provide and nurture various environments where the Hawaiian language can flourish as a living language and appreciate Hawaiian culture and values in today's contemporary Hawaiian society. |
| Covenant House Alaska | Anchorage, AK | $10,000 | 2025 | The goal of the Covenant House Prevention Project is to break cycles of poverty and prevent homelessness before it starts. CHA will always serve youth experiencing homelessness. But if recent years have shown us anything, it is that our state needs a proactive approach to reduce the need for emergency response services. This pilot project will target youth involved with the child welfare, foster care, and juvenile justice systems. These youth are aging out of systems without the three most critical facets that contribute to successful young adulthood, financial stability, housing stability, and connection to community. We will provide intensive, individualized support and wraparound services, safe housing, and training to build the life skills needed to be a part of a healthy community and the soft skills necessary for meaningful involvement in Alaska's workforce. |
| Oregon Museum of Science and Industry | Portland, OR | $10,000 | 2025 | The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) aims to improve access to STEAM education. In pursuit of this mission, we continually seek innovative ways to reach those who cannot access science learning at the museum. This work stems from feedback we have heard through community listening sessions that transportation, geography, and finances can be barriers to our educational programming. One of the most impactful access programs we provide that addresses this need is our Statewide Engagement programming. This dynamic K-8th programming delivers hands-on science experiences directly to schools, community organizations, and partner organizations wherever they need us most. Participating in over 30 classes and assemblies that explore topics like astronomy to biology and physics, students gain an introduction to essential STEAM concepts that help them build confidence, develop persistence, and achieve academic success. All of our programming is NGSS-aligned and supports the teachers and |
| REAP Inc | Portland, OR | $10,000 | 2025 | REAP's Young Entrepreneurs Program (YEP) works to dismantle barriers for culturally diverse students and creates opportunities for students to unleash their innovative potential and explore ways to create their own wealth to become self-sufficient. Our program is culturally responsive and focused on serving and empowering culturally diverse students. YEP's mission is to build the next wave of entrepreneurs and community leaders. Our program empowers students by developing baseline skills to pursue business ventures. YEP works to develop employment skills and dismantle barriers for culturally diverse students through the development of leadership skills, general business knowledge, effective self-presentation, networking skills, access to job markets and training, mentorship, and project-based learning. The YEP curriculum introduces students to the fundamentals of business, helps students identify/expand on their passions, and set/achieve goals. |
| Oregon Business Academy | Lake Oswego, OR | $10,000 | 2025 | Business Week is a 7-day, on-campus, residential summer "camp" offering a project-based, experiential learning environment where students are challenged to create a business, collaborate, and grow. Working in teams, students discover leadership skills and abilities they didn't know they possessed. They gain a solid grounding in the basic principles of business. Students and parents alike describe Business Week participation as transformative. |
| The Valley Economic Alliance | Sherman Oaks, CA | $10,000 | 2025 | The Tech Talent Connect Workforce Development Program is a new initiative designed by The Alliance to serve as a workforce development pipeline flowing between employers, training providers and job seekers in technology occupations--especially for low-to-moderate-income youth needing internships and adults needing short-term vocational training. The Tech Talent Connect Program concentrates on driving job seekers to training and job opportunities in aerospace, healthcare, biotech, building trades, logistics and technology. Tech Talent Connect is designed to empower high school students and adults--especially those who are marginalized and/or self-identify as low-to-moderate-income--seeking vocational training and placement in in-demand, high paying jobs which require specialized skills. |
| ClimbHI | Honolulu, HI | $10,000 | 2025 | ClimbHI's Leadership Exploration Inspiration Program is a workforce development program to inspire Hawai'i's youth to select careers in the Hawai'i visitor industry by providing them with exposure to the variety of careers in the industry and the different pathways to success. From the student's perspective LEI represents an opportunity for Leadership, Exploration and Inspiration, and from the visitor industry's perspective LEI provides an opportunity to Lead, Expose, and Inspire Hawaii's youth. |
| EXCEL Alaska Inc | Anchorage, AK | $10,000 | 2025 | Alaska EXCEL Aviation & Aviation Mechanics Program will provide 20 rural students across rural/remote Alaska with hands-on training and awareness in the aviation field. Participants will apply for either the Aviation Ground School Class or Aviation Mechanics course and spend the entire month of June 2024 to experience the fantastic options available in the aviation field. |
| Junior Achievement of Alaska Inc | Anchorage, AK | $10,000 | 2025 | The Junior Achievement of Alaska Statewide K-12 Economic Empowerment & Work Readiness program is designed to engage students on a subject over multiple grades, from a student's first day in kindergarten and throughout their K-12 years, preparing them for the transition to post-secondary education, work, and adulthood. The program focuses on critical life skills such as how to manage money, how to prepare for a job or career and how to start a business. |
| United Way of San Diego County | San Diego, CA | $10,000 | 2025 | This grant request is to scale STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics)-to-Careers program. STEAM-to-Careers develops the next generation of leaders by preparing low-income students to become more confident, connected, and engaged in STEAM curriculum and workforce opportunities after high school. UWSD respectfully requests funds to support student engagement, data and evaluation, and program implementation through a network of community partners. These additional resources will help us make a significant impact on up to 200 youth who reside within two of the most impoverished neighborhoods in San Diego County. |
| Adelante Mujeres | Forest Grove, OR | $10,000 | 2025 | The Chicas Youth Development Program provides year-round, culturally specific services to address prevailing educational and racial disparities for Latine youth throughout Washington County. The program works in partnership with the Hillsboro, Forest Grove, and Beaverton School Districts and is provided at 29 public school sites across Washington County, with a focus on the crucial transition periods between middle and high school, and between high school and post-secondary pathways. It currently provides services to over 700 Latine girls in grades 3-12 and in 12 universities for over 110+ college students. |
| Yuut Elitnaurviat Inc | Bethel, AK | $10,000 | 2025 | Yuut Elitnaurviat provides workforce development programs in Adult Education, Drivers Education (ADL & CDL), Healthcare, Construction Trades, Rural Law Enforcement and Aviation. Operate the only FAA approved Aviation Mechanic Program in Rural Alaska. |
| New Avenues for Youth | Portland, OR | $10,000 | 2025 | To help youth develop practical skills for the workforce, New Avenues offers job training and employment services through its PAVE program. Participants receive individualized supports around job readiness, job searching, career exploration, basic needs (meals, hygiene supplies, etc.), and linkage to other wraparound services like housing, drug and alcohol recovery and mental-health supports, education, and more. Low-barrier opportunities (e.g., jobsite tours and informational interviews) are also available for youth who may not otherwise engage in workforce-development activities, with the goal of connecting them to further job training and employment services when they are ready. |
| Computers 2 SD Kids | San Diego, CA | $10,000 | 2025 | Funds will be utilized to support our Workforce Development & Technology Assistance Programs, & computer refurbishment, & dispersal. Specific strategies include: Providing training in IT & logistics to empower individuals with in-demand skills; Refurbishing donated computers & distributing them to families at low or no cost; & Offering digital literacy classes to help families effectively use the computers. Our computer refurbishment & distribution program are crucial in bridging the digital divide. |
| Hera School | San Jose, CA | $10,000 | 2025 | Emerald Program (Ages 16-19): Designed to prepare young adults aged 16 to 19 for the Federal Aviation Administration exam required to obtaining a private pilot license. This 5-month program will provide all the education, training and supplies needed at no cost to them, thus allowing them to pursue their aviation goals without financial barriers. |
| Imagining More Foundation | San Francisco, CA | $7,500 | 2025 | Imagining More supports youth student athletes through their athletic, educational, and professional journeys. We empower them to achieve their dreams, regardless of their background and socioeconomic status. Our ultimate goal is to empower camp participants to embrace their potential and become successful leaders. We offer strategies to create equity in co-ed sports teams, share tips on how to be your best in sport, and give guidance on how to leverage your unique talents for potential collegiate and career opportunities. |
| Evergreen Goodwill of Northwest Washington | Seattle, WA | $7,000 | 2025 | Goodwill's Youth Aerospace Program North in Snohomish County is a two-year initiative designed to prepare junior and senior high school students from Snohomish and North King County for careers and further education in the aerospace and manufacturing industries while ensuring their high school graduation. |
| Seattle Jobs Initiative | Seattle, WA | $7,000 | 2025 | The Digital Bridge - SnoCo Connect participants are adolescents and young adults aged 14-20 who face multiple barriers to education and employment success. These individuals may face housing instability, including living in transitional housing, and have either dropped out of K-12 education or are at risk of doing so. Each participant will be paired with a dedicated Employment and Education Navigator who will guide them in achieving personal stability and acquiring essential skills necessary to embark on a training or educational pathway. Technology will be gifted to those in most need and who are enrolled in an education or training program. Due to the participants' need to work with a trusted and known person, digital literacy skills will be taught be the SnoCo Connect staff in a one-on-one or group setting depending on circumstances. |
| R Merle Palmer Minority Scholarship Foundation | Tacoma, WA | $7,000 | 2025 | With 40 years serving young adults of color, we know they face barriers to success in careers and education including limited financial means to support themselves through a postsecondary program, underrepresentation in their chosen field, and lacking opportunities such as the ability to participate in an unpaid internship. Palmer Scholars offer two entry point programs for young adults of color. 1) LEGACY program is for high school juniors through postsecondary program completion. 2) PALMER PATHWAYS serves 18 - 26-year-olds who are neither enrolled in school nor gainfully employed and are pursuing a career in the trades. |
| Elementary Institute of Science | San Diego, CA | $6,000 | 2025 | Girls Take Flight is an innovative program to provide 10th and 11th grade girls extensive hands-on experience building and flying drones as well as exploring their many uses. Students who complete the full program earn their FAA remote pilot certification. Students are encouraged to continue on to secondary education and pursue aviation, engineering, and computer science careers. |
| City Surf Project | San Francisco, CA | $6,000 | 2025 | City Surf Project's two Leadership Development programs, SILT and the Alumni program, provide a continuum of paid work experience, mentorship, and professional development that helps young people stay connected to a supportive community and beneficial physical activity while beginning the transition to adulthood. In 2024-25, CSP will serve 20 San Francisco Bay Area youth through Leadership Development programs. The majority of students will be youth of color and/or from lower income households. |
| Sharefest Community Development | San Pedro, CA | $5,000 | 2025 | Sharefest's Youth Leadership Academy (YLA) is a year-round career workforce development program for high school students at greatest risk of drop-out in Los Angeles' South and Harbor regions. Working closely with administrators and teachers under an agreement with the Los Angeles Unified School District, the YLA delivers credit-eligible College and Career Development courses that encompass foundational personal growth work in Socio-Emotional Learning, Purpose Education, Professional Development, College/Career Access, Entrepreneurship, and Financial Literacy. Coursework includes career awareness, exploration and project-based learning activities, such as developing a career plan that matches student assets and interests. Learning is enhanced with panel discussions and field trips to expose students to potential career opportunities, particularly those that do not require a college degree to enter, such as the building trades, IT professions, and the energy industry. |
| Re-Use Hawaii | Honolulu, HI | $5,000 | 2025 | The global positioning of Re-use Hawai'i has merged our experience and reflection with the understanding that our local schools yearn for sustainability education. Re-use Hawai'i has enveloped our education tours with the creation of educational materials. This work has become ever more important as we field the calls from teachers each year, requesting tours and in-classroom instruction. Re-use Hawai'i requires more bandwidth to serve all the requests that arrive. Our vision includes expansion of our educational offerings, both in-person and online. This will serve our remote schools on all islands well. Our efforts are inclusive and creative, and we could significantly use the input of the youth to help this launch point to embellish our educational efforts. We have entertained a mixed bag of internships and have arrived at a healthy point of delivery. |
| Northwest Education Access | Seattle, WA | $5,000 | 2025 | NWEdA's College Prep Program helps young people choose a career pathway and prepare for higher education and meaningful employment. The aim is for each student to enroll in an appropriate postsecondary program with the resources and skills they need to succeed. Education Advocates (EAs) work one-on-one with each student to create a career and academic achievement plan tailored to the student's gifts and goals. |
| iUrban Teen | Tukwila, WA | $5,000 | 2025 | iUrban Teen provides services to youth ages 12-18, connecting them and their families to STEM education and pre-vocational activities. Activities fall under the following three pillars: iEngage: This pillar is our first engagement with students and their families. It includes one of our all-day immersion events, such as iSTEM, iTrades, and iSpace, and career tours of leading STEM-related organizations designed to ignite interest in STEM fields. iLearn: iUrban Teen offers a variety of educational programs and camps under this category. These programs cover topics like coding, digital animation, GIS mapping, data analytics, aerospace, engineering, environmental and more. The goal is to equip young individuals with practical skills and knowledge. Activities are often provided as multi-day events. iSucceed: The iSucceed component provides scholarships, post-secondary education support, and internship opportunities. It aims to bridge the gap between classroom learning and real-world experie |
| SR3 SeaLife Response Rehabilitation and Research | Des Moines, WA | $5,000 | 2025 | SR3's SeaLife Rescue Center is the only place in the Pacific Northwest where community members, including aspiring marine wildlife professionals, can gain hands-on marine mammal experience. Support through this proposal will leverage this unique facility to increase learning opportunities and pathways to success for the next generation of ocean advocates through: 1. A college internship program delivering hands-on training in marine wildlife response and rehabilitation; 2. Interactive education and outreach activities for elementary through high school age children; and 3. Hands-on training for community volunteers. |
| Mentoring Urban Students & Teens | Seattle, WA | $5,000 | 2025 | Every year MUST takes its participants on several college tours where they get to see what campus life is like, learn about degree programs and career paths, and get enrollment and application support. These trips are designed to give MUST participants a first-hand experience of what college life is like, introduce them to the application process, areas of study and scholarship opportunities. MUST often partners with campus student groups such as The Brotherhood Initiative to guide the tours, hold Q&A sessions and accompany them to campus events. These partnerships bolster the experience of visiting college campuses by showing MUST Mentees how other young Black males are navigating college and hearing directly from them about their experiences. |
| Eileen & Callie's Place | Kent, WA | $5,000 | 2025 | ECP is expanding our mentoring program to foster resilience, social-emotional competence, positive identity development, & mental and physical health for young women aging out of foster care. We will increase our number of participants, supported by our new Mentor Coordinator focused on connecting mentees with supports, resources and information they need, and will provide mentors with additional support and training. |
| STEM Paths Innovation Network | Seattle, WA | $5,000 | 2025 | SPIN Girls (grades 6-10): The program offers long-term, holistic support including STEM skills, leadership development, career pathways support, social emotional learning, and community/network building. Participants participate in Lab Days and Field Days on Saturdays throughout the year. In addition, participants in grades 8-10 are also paired with STEM professionals who are BIPOC women. SPIN Girls are matched with their mentors over multiple years to provide long-term support as they move through high school and beyond. SPIN Fellows: SPIN Fellows supports girls once they move into 11th and 12th grade. SPIN Fellows supports them in preparing for and achieving their college and/or career goals. The program offers 1:1 support with college and career planning; life skills development support and coaching; an educational stipend for a college or apprenticeship; an in-state college or program visit; and more. |
| Girls Inc of the Pacific Northwest | Portland, OR | $5,000 | 2025 | Eureka! is an immersive, five-year STEAM program for 8th-12th grade students. Eureka! delivers 120+ program hours per year through STEAM summer camps, summer internships, and school-year workshops, field trips, and guest lectures. With additional focus on career exploration, college preparation, and life skills, Eureka! inspires 8th-12th grade students to imagine their roles in the STEAM workforce and take concrete steps towards realizing their ambitions. Long-term, Eureka! diversifies the STEAM workforce, and helps women break cycles of poverty. |
| City Year SeattleKing County | Seattle, WA | $5,000 | 2025 | The Whole School, Whole Child program is dual impact: We provide career development offerings to talented young adult AmeriCorps members who then provide impactful direct service to thousands of Seattle students. In the 2023-2024 school year, 40-55 AmeriCorps members (ages 17-26) are serving 3,600 students in seven elementary and middle schools and providing targeted interventions to 350-400 students. We are providing schools with vital extra human capacity and support as students return to the classroom to reconnect with their peers, reengage in their learning, and continue to recover from impacts of the pandemic. |
| Seattle Colleges Foundation | Seattle, WA | $5,000 | 2025 | The Aeronautical Technology Mentorship Program is designed help students build confidence, create professional connections and gain soft skills needed to succeed in building a network - ultimately securing future employment or advancing existing careers in the aeronautical technology sector. The format will be in-person and managed collaboratively by a Workforce Associate Director, Workforce Aeronautical Technology Specialist, and Executive Director of Corporate Partnerships. Support will also be provided by a career consultant specializing in the aviation sector, as well as a project coordinator intern. |
| The Residency | Kirkland, WA | $5,000 | 2025 | Youth Career Exploration & Internship Programs in 2025 will support students with program pathways, paid opportunities for career exploration, mentorship, skill development, and leadership training for 50 young people (ages 16-20). Our Youth Career Exploration & Internship Programs include the following: summer intensive, youth advisory council and audio engineering internships. |
| The Washington STEM Center | Seattle, WA | $5,000 | 2025 | The Washington STEM Center will support advancing equity in access to STEM education for students furthest from educational justice-students of color, students in rural areas, students growing up in low-income households, and young women. Through our K-12 STEM and Career Pathways Program, Washington STEM will improve the coordination of the education-to-workforce system by deepening efforts in 2024-2025. We will implement efforts that align with and implement the Career Pathways Ready System framework. |
| College Possible | Seattle, WA | $5,000 | 2025 | College Possible Washington provides intensive support to students throughout the entire college process: from admission and enrollment to persistence and ultimately degree completion. We pair groups of students with a full-time, dedicated near-peer coach who is a recent college graduate, close in age to the students they serve who uses a specialized curriculum and other supports to help guide the students into and through college on the path to a degree. We have a specialized grade-level specific curriculum that spans the entire high school to college process. |
| Volunteers of America Alaska | Anchorage, AK | $5,000 | 2025 | VOA Alaska's Youth Advisory Council (YAC) will empower youth ages 13-18 with the skills to be leaders in their community while shaping the behavioral health system of care in Alaska. Objectives of the YAC are to: -Equip youth with the skills and knowledge to shape the behavioral health continuum of care within VOA Alaska and across the state. -Empower the youth to become leaders within their schools, social circles, and community and create new education and career pathways. - Enhance available services while opening new doors to support services for our youth. |
| Young Women's Christian Association of Seattle | Seattle, WA | $5,000 | 2025 | The Femme2STEM program will serve 30 female-identified participants enrolled in high school and/or college who have a strong interest in and commitment to science, technology, engineering, or math. During the program, youth also engage in the following program offerings which are described in more detail in the attached executive summary. -Project-Based Internships -Career Exploration -STEM College and Career Readiness -College and Career Navigation Support -Academic and Social-Emotional Support -Mentorship and Peer Support |
| Oregon STEM | Hood River, OR | $5,000 | 2025 | Oregon STEM is dedicated to building a creative, equitable, and future-ready Oregon by fostering strategic partnerships, advocating for inclusive STEAM education, and empowering all learners to thrive in a rapidly evolving world. We achieve this mission through collaboration with the 13 regional STEM Hubs, as well as key education and workforce development agencies. Our approach involves advocating for system alignment and implementing data-driven strategies to address opportunity gaps. Additionally, we equip schools with data tools to customize educational offerings, ensuring alignment with students' interests, aptitudes, and regional job opportunities. Oregon STEM bridges awareness, access, and skills gaps through these efforts while promoting equitable education. |
| Surfrider Spirit Sessions | Honolulu, HI | $5,000 | 2025 | Surfrider Spirit Sessions uses a unique combination of athletics, eco-therapy, socialization, multiple forms of mentoring-including one-to-one, group and peer mentoring-and Hawaiian culture, environmental awareness activities, life skills lessons and pre-employment skills training to promote healthy lifestyle choices, build self-esteem and self-confidence and help youth succeed in their homes, schools and communities. |
| Foundation for Edmonds School District | Lynnwood, WA | $5,000 | 2025 | FESD developed a workforce development and on-the-job training program for high schoolers based on a need identified by one of the high school principals who wanted to support career readiness and confidence of students who would otherwise be at risk of failing to graduate on time. Low academic success often leads to students having a lack of interest in higher education or other post high school career readiness programs. In the 2024-2025 school year, the program will enroll 30 juniors and 30 seniors from across the district who will be active in the program until they reach graduation. The program will help students identify a career industry of interest to them and then help them enroll in dual credit courses in that industry, and pair it with paid summer internships also within the industry. |