Cedar Rapids nonprofit NewBoCo announced last week that it has received a $50,000 grant which will allow for the addition of healthcare-focused lessons into NewBoCo’s K-5 CoderDojo program.
CoderDojo is a free, biweekly program that offers K-5 students to learn STEM skills online. The grant funding will allow NewBoCo to hire a STEM Education Fellow to develop and test healthcare-focused CoderDojo stations and fund the equipment and materials necessary for such stations.
The grant funding comes from Telligen Community Initiative (TCI), a private, Iowa-based charitable foundation. TCI funding is designed to initiate and support innovative health-related projects designed to improve health, social well-being, and educational attainment.
“Introducing children to STEM education at an early age is crucial to helping inspire them to explore STEM careers across many industries when they grow up,” said Aaron Horn, NewBoCo’s Executive Director in an announcement. “Support from TCI to expand our CoderDojo program to include a focus on the health care industry will help inspire the next generation of innovative health care workers in our community..”
This support for CoderDojo was one of 18 grants selected for TCI’s 2020 Iowa and Illinois-based funding cycle, which awarded a total of $700,590 in grants to nonprofit organizations in these states. Other Iowa grantees this year included Iowa State University Foundation and YMCA of Greater Des Moines.
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Middle Bit: NewBoCo announces changes in leadership -Nov. 6, 2020
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