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Support STEM Education on Giving Tuesday

How you can help the AFCEA Educational Foundation support teachers and students on this global day of giving.

Kevin Kless and his students accept a Gravely STEM Teaching Tool Grant, which will support their physics and chemistry program known as PACE.

Graduates from Yale engage young students in chemistry experiments at last year's Make-Her Fair.

Chemistry in action at Heart Pine School.

For many people in the U.S., the end of Thanksgiving marks the start of a whirlwind shopping season. From Black Friday to Cyber Monday, the search is on for the perfect gifts. But the holidays also bring about a season of charitable giving and a day known as Giving Tuesday.

Giving Tuesday, celebrated on Tuesday, November 29, is a global movement fueled by the power of social media and collaboration. Using the hashtag #GivingTuesday, nonprofits around the world will raise funds and awareness for their causes. The event encourages participants to find a way to give back with their time, donations or the power of their voices.

This Giving Tuesday, AFCEA’s Educational Foundation will join the movement in support of teachers and students engaged in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. The foundation, in conjunction with AFCEA chapters worldwide, provides more than $2 million in scholarships a year. That effort would be impossible without the generosity of our donors.

To celebrate Giving Tuesday and to support STEM education, please consider making a donation to our Educational Foundation or spreading the word about this important cause. Every dollar makes a difference for our scholarship recipients, like Kevin Kless, a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the lead middle school science and mathematics teacher at Heart Pine School. Kless used his 2015 Gravely STEM Teaching Tool Grant to help the Heart Pine PACE (Physics Arts and Chemistry Experience) program grow and excel.

“A strong education for our future generations is one of the greatest gifts we as a society can impart. Your contribution to our school has helped us create the beginnings of a robust science and mathematics program that is vitally needed in our local community.” - Kevin Kless

Or Rachelle Pedersen, who’s using her grant to support two clubs she started at Bunnell High School: the Technology Students Association (TSA) and the Girls in STEM Club. The TSA group will use the funds to pay for transportation and registration to more than 15 different engineering and coding competitions, while the Girls in STEM group will organize its second annual “Make-Her Fair” to engage elementary and middle school girls in hands-on STEM activities.

Brandon Elder, a student at California State Polytechnic University, received the Spring 2016 Afghanistan and Iraq War Veteran Undergraduate Scholarship, sponsored by the Educational Foundation and the AFCEA NOVA Chapter. “This scholarship allowed me to pay for my summer quarter classes and to continue in my geospatial engineering program,” explains Elder. “Summer classes are typically much more expensive and quite troublesome to pay for when working. This scholarship allowed me to stay enrolled at the full-time rate while only working part time.”

And the Spring 2016 War Veteran Scholarship allowed Gunnery Sgt. Aaron S. Robinson to pursue his degree in information technology at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. “As a husband, father and active duty Marine, I have had to get creative in how I mix college courses into my day with minimal impact on my family and career,” explains Gunnery Sgt. Robinson. “Through their scholarship, AFCEA has enabled me to continue my education while also meeting my financial goals.”

Please join us this Giving Tuesday in our effort to support outstanding teachers and students like these around the globe. Visit our Giving Tuesday site to donate or help share our story.