Students in local counties benefiting from Duke Energy grants

Southern Indiana Business Report

PLAINFIELD — Students in Lawrence, Martin, Orange and Daviess counties are among the beneficiaries of more than $300,000 granted statewide by the Duke Energy Foundation. The group announced the grants to K-12 programs on March 10.

“Our educators and students are facing tremendous challenges teaching and learning as we emerge from the pandemic,” said Stan Pinegar, president of Duke Energy Indiana. “It’s more important now than ever before that we support and invest in opportunities for our children in the communities we serve to thrive and reach their full potential.”

Statewide, the grants support a wide range of educational programming for K-12 students, including summer reading programs; science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education; programs that support underrepresented, low-income or diverse populations; and efforts to reverse academic declines due to disruption caused by COVID-19.

Mitchell Community Schools and the COSMOS program (Collaboration of Shoals, Mitchell and Orleans Schools) received $14,274. The funds will be used to purchase state-of-the-art supplies for digital fabrication and STEM programming at Shoals Middle School, Burris Elementary School and Orleans Elementary School. Supplies include a sublimination printer and heat press, a laser engraving and cutting machine, and microelectronics kits. 

Washington Carnegie Public Library in Daviess County received $10,000. Funds will support “STEMspiration: Change the Equation,” an out-of-school STEM program that aims to prepare students to step in and fill future STEM jobs in the community. 

Around the region

• Clark-Pleasant Education Foundation (Johnson County) – $7,600. Funds will be used to purchase equipment for Whiteland Community High School’s engineering classes, including a desktop wind tunnel and 3D printers that enable students to learn hands-on engineering skills.
• Foundation of Monroe County Community Schools (Monroe County) – $15,700. Funds will be used to support specialized training for elementary and middle school teachers to address math learning gaps due to disruption caused by COVID-19, while keeping students advancing on grade level.
• Hanover College (Jefferson County) – $15,000. Funds will be used to support Hanover College’s Summer STEM Enrichment Program, which aims to increase the number of underserved high school students who attend college and introduce them to fields and careers in STEM. Students enrolled in the program will attend a weeklong residential academy on campus. Duke Energy funds will also be used to offer professional development and materials to area high school STEM teachers.
• Maker13 (Clark County) – $10,000. Funds will be used to expand the nonprofit’s experiential learning programming in underserved communities and connect area youth with employers in STEM-related industries. 
• Metropolitan School District of Martinsville (Morgan County) – $13,715. Funds will support a remedial reading program for students in need of extra support. Participating first, second and third grade students will meet for three hours per week after school at Brooklyn STEM Academy and South Elementary School of Communications. 
• Milan Community Schools (Ripley County) – $10,270. Funds will enable Milan Community Schools to offer a summer learning camp for at-risk students filled with STEM, literacy, and social and emotional learning.
• Vincennes Community School Corporation (Knox County) – $10,000. Funds will enable the Vincennes Community School Corporation to offer Project Lead the Way programming. Pre-K through fifth grade students will have the opportunity to participate in hands-on activities in computer science, engineering and biomedical science.

Statewide recipient

Indiana State University received $40,000 to help support the institution’s Power of Reading and Power of Math summits, which provide teachers with the opportunity to hear from nationally renowned speakers on new techniques and research to help improve instruction and outcomes for K-12 students.

Other recipients

• Avon Education Foundation (Hendricks County) – $10,000. Funds will support the purchase of build-it-yourself, program-it-yourself smart speakers that teach kids how to code, while also learning about artificial intelligence.
• Brownsburg Education Foundation (Hendricks County) – $10,000. Funds will be used to purchase classroom supplies and materials for students enrolled in Brownsburg High School’s Project Lead the Way classes, which provide hands-on learning opportunities in engineering, computer science and biomedical science. 
• Camp Navigate (Vigo County) – $5,000. Camp Navigate is an after-school care and summer camp program for children pre-K through eighth grade. The organization focuses on developing employability/soft skills, promoting healthy lifestyles and creating servant leaders. Funds will be used to support Camp Navigate’s Character Store. When students display leadership, teamwork and other positive traits, they will be rewarded with Camp Navigate “dollars,” which will allow them to purchase objects or privileges from the store.
• Carmel Education Foundation (Hamilton County) – $10,000. Funds will be used to purchase robotics kits for each of Carmel Clay’s three middle schools. Funds will also support Project Lead the Way curriculum focused on energy collisions and conversion, which will be utilized in fourth grade classrooms at each of Carmel Clay’s elementary schools.
• Girl Scouts of Northern Indiana-Michiana (Huntington County) – $5,000. Funds will be used to support the Girl Scout Leadership Experience (GSLE), which aims to nurture and champion girls’ ambitions by providing the environment, knowledge and skills they need to fulfill their potential. Through GSLE, girls build skills in STEM and entrepreneurship.
• Girls Inc. of Shelbyville & Shelby County (Shelby County) – $10,000. Funds will be used to provide scholarships for girls from underserved communities to attend Girls Inc. of Shelbyville and Shelby County’s summer literacy program.
• Ivy Tech Foundation (Vigo County) – $10,000. Funds will be used to support Cob and Cog, an annual competition held at Ivy Tech Community College’s Terre Haute campus in which area high school students compete in STEM-related challenges that require problem-solving, teamwork, effective communication and ingenuity. Through Cob and Cog, students are exposed to a fun and energetic environment that sparks interest in career opportunities in STEM fields.
• Kokomo School Corporation (Howard County) – $20,000. Funds will support Kokomo School Corporation’s Summer READ UP with STEM! Discovery Program for students entering grades K-3. This four-week program is intended to bridge the summer reading gap for students and set a foundation for future interest in STEM disciplines.  
• Maker Youth Foundation (Hamilton County) – $27,230. Funds will support the Maker Youth Foundation’s “Saturn Program: A Renewable Energy Mobile Field Experience and Design Challenge.” Through this unique program, Hamilton County high school students will compete in a multiday design challenge and learn about renewable energy technologies. 
• Minority Engineering Program of Indianapolis (Marion County) – $10,000. Funds will be used to purchase supplies and materials for minority students pursuing engineering and information technology education.
• New Castle Community School Corporation (Henry County) – $9,419. Funds will support Wilbur Wright Elementary’s remedial reading program for first and second grade students. This immersive program will focus on comprehension, fluency, phonemic awareness, phonics and vocabulary. 
• Purdue University (Tippecanoe County) – $20,000. Funds will support Purdue University’s “Trailblazers” program, which provides specialized mentoring and faculty training for historically underrepresented populations. Funds will also support the university’s “Minorities in Engineering” program, which promotes diversity in engineering. 
• Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (Vigo County) – $12,960. Funds will support a summer professional development opportunity for sixth through 12th grade Indiana STEM teachers. The program emphasizes the integration of computer-mediated learning, adaptive pedagogy and advanced digital resources to augment online learning. 
• TechPoint Foundation for Youth (Hendricks County) – $10,000. Funds will support the State Robotics Initiative (SRI), which aims to engage traditionally underrepresented youth in STEM to build the next generation of leaders in the field. Each year, SRI provides 20,000 Indiana students with hands-on, experiential robotics training to develop their awareness, interest and growth in STEM skills and careers. Students learn hard skills for designing, prototyping and troubleshooting robots while building soft skills like communication, collaboration and creativity.

History of the grants

Over the past three years, the Duke Energy Foundation has awarded 76 strategic charitable grants totaling more than $1.1 million to nonprofit organizations working to bolster education in Indiana communities.  

The Duke Energy Foundation provides philanthropic support to meet the needs of communities where Duke Energy customers live and work. The foundation contributes more than $2 million annually in charitable gifts to Indiana and is funded by Duke Energy shareholder dollars. More information about the Foundation and its Powerful Communities program can be found at duke-energy.com/foundation.