February 2024 - Indiana Cable and Broadband Association

Six winners to each receive $2,500 to support K-12 STEM projects

Sparklight, a leading broadband communications provider, invites schools and organizations serving K-12 students to enter its 6 th annual “Dream Bigger” contest for the opportunity to win $2,500 for their science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) project or club.

K-12 schools and organizations in communities throughout the 21 states Sparklight serves are eligible to participate. Entries can be made at sparklight.com/contest by sending a photo and written summary outlining how the funds will be used for a technology project or group and how it will benefit students. Six winners will each receive a $2,500 donation.

“STEM education helps students develop the critical thinking and problem-solving skills needed for academic and career success,” said Trish Niemann, Vice President of Communications Strategy. “Through Sparklight’s annual Dream Bigger contest, we are proud to help fund STEM-based initiatives that encourage students to develop these skills and find their passion within this rapidly growing career field.”

Entries will be accepted from February 22 through March 12, 2024, at sparklight.com/contest. Twelve finalists will be selected by Sparklight, and the six winners will be determined by public online voting from March 14 through March 21 at the same site. The finalists and winning schools and organizations will be highlighted on Sparklight’s Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) pages.

Funds will help teachers get school supplies and other resources for South Bend Community Schools’ classrooms

The South Bend Education Foundation has been awarded a $15,000 grant from Comcast to support teachers and students of South Bend Schools. The grant will provide additional support for the Teacher Store and Teacher Wish List Programs, as well as unrestricted funds to help with additional teacher, student and classroom needs throughout the school year.

“We are so grateful to Comcast for this generous support,” said South Bend Education Foundation Executive Director Steve Funk. “The Teacher Store and Teacher Wish Lists are vitally important to our teachers. This gift allows us to provide even more resources for our teachers and students.”

“As the son of a teacher, I personally know how much dedication and passion goes into education. Teachers can make an immeasurable impact on your life,” said Carl Jones, Jr., Regional Vice President of Government and External Affairs. “Comcast is proud to support the great educators that are helping to shape the futures of South Bend’s youth.”

The Teacher Wish List is an application-based program, where teachers can apply for mini-grants up to $300 to support classroom needs. The Teacher Store is a room stocked with typical classroom supplies, which teachers may pick up free of charge. Teachers often have used their own money for needed classroom supplies. These programs help to offset the need and provide immediate accesses to the supplies.

The programs historically had been funded through small gifts from individual donors. In 2022, the AEP Foundation Indiana Michigan Power (I & M) awarded the Foundation a $25,000 grant to be more proactive in supporting the needs of our teachers. In 2023, AEP again provided a challenge grant of $25,000, which with this gift has more than been matched.

“Through both grants, from Comcast and the original funds from AEP, we are able to continue to dramatically increase the amount of support we give our teachers,” Funk continued. While use of both the Teacher Store and Teacher Wish Lists were historically limited to a couple of times per year, they are now available year-round and at increased per teacher quantities. Funk indicated that the South Bend Education Foundation has more than doubled its support through these two programs in the past two years. “That is over $50,000 annually in supplies going directly to our teachers,” he said. “Our teachers work so hard each and every day in the classroom, so we feel it is one of our primary missions to provide classroom resources to support them.”

The South Bend Education Foundation is a non-profit 501(C)3 organization dedicated to enriching the learning experiences for students and teachers of the South Bend Community School Corporation. More information about the Foundation is available at www.edfo.org.

Source: Comcast

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