Think Together Awarded $100,000 by Boeing for STEM, Coding and Robotics Programs

The company has provided $500,000 in funding throughout its five-year partnership with Think Together supporting afterschool programs in its Los Angeles and Orange County school districts.

LONG BEACH, Calif., June 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Think Together, California's leading nonprofit provider of afterschool, expanded learning, and school improvement programs, announced today that Boeing has awarded a $100,000 grant to support STEM, coding and robotics programs throughout Think Together afterschool programs in Los Angeles and Orange County school districts.

The grant renews Boeing's investment in Think Together's Coding For All initiative, which includes curriculum focused on visual and text-based code editing, rapid prototyping, STEM career explorations, Invention Adventures activities, and Hack Clubs for K-12 students.

"Forging partnerships with organizations like Think Together and supporting impactful initiatives like Coding For All helps enable future leaders in STEM to hone their skills, pursue their dreams and leverage their passion to launch a career," said Adam Galia, Senior Government and Community Relations Specialist at Boeing.

Throughout its five-year partnership with Boeing, Think Together has served more than 12,000 students across 61 K-12 schools with coding and robotics programs starting in Compton Unified and Lynwood Unified School Districts before expanding its investment to include Bellflower Unified, Orange Unified and Paramount Unified School Districts. During the 2023-2024 school year, this equated to 3,660 students served with lesson plans, supplies and equipment needed to explore STEM subjects.

Think Together's afterschool expanded learning programs are funded in part by After School Education and Safety (ASES) grants awarded by the California Department of Education and 21st Century Community Learning Centers grants secured from the U.S. Department of Education. California has the largest system of publicly backed expanded learning in the nation.

To curb learning loss and expand access to expanded learning, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, committed a record $5 billion investment by 2025 for afterschool programs as part of a historic $123 billion funding bill to support K-12 schools. Organizations like Think Together rely on public grants as well as private philanthropy to bring high-quality education programs from preschool to high school.

"We are grateful for partners like Boeing who believe education is the key to changing the odds for kids," says Randy Barth, founder and CEO of Think Together. "STEM knowledge is integral to future success and Think Together is proud to offer that knowledge to students through our partnership."

In addition to corporate charitable investments, Boeing employees have served as Think Together volunteers, offering their time and talent as science competition judges, career mentors and event speakers. Boeing invested $191 million in communities globally in 2023, including $15 million in California.

About Think Together

Think Together partners with schools and communities to pursue educational equity and excellence for all kids. As a nonprofit organization, Think Together innovates, implements, and scales academic solutions that change the odds for hundreds of thousands of California students. Think Together's program areas include early learning, afterschool, school support services and leadership development for teachers and school administrators. For more information, call (888) 485-THINK or visit https://bit.ly/ThinkHome.

About Boeing 

As a leading global aerospace company, Boeing develops, manufactures, and services commercial airplanes, defense products and space systems for customers in more than 150 countries. As a top U.S. exporter, the company leverages the talents of a global supplier base to advance economic opportunity, sustainability, and community impact. Boeing's diverse team is committed to innovating for the future and living the company's core values of safety, quality, and integrity. Learn more at www.boeing.com.

SOURCE Think Together