PPG Foundation invests $428,000 in 20 Pittsburgh-area programs

Coatings and paint supplier PPG has announced that the PPG Foundation recently invested $428,000 in 20 organizations to support educational and community sustainability programs in the Pittsburgh area, where the company maintains its global headquarters and several facilities.

Among the grant recipients are several manufacturing and STEM-related programs:

• American Heart Association: $15,000 for the Go Red Goes STEM program, a yearlong mentorship program for local girls in middle school who are interested in a career in STEM fields.
• ASSET Inc.: $13,500 to underwrite the costs of professional development programs and courses for under-resourced educators, as well as hands-on learning materials to teach inquiry-centered STEM subjects.
• Carnegie Mellon University: $23,000 for sponsorship of an educational session at the Chemical Engineering Graduate Student Association Symposium; and the Girls of Steel Robotics program, which provides high school girls from under-represented communities with robotics and STEM curriculum.
• Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania Inc.: $10,000 for after-school programming to provide local girls with the opportunity to participate in a yearlong, holistic, curriculum-based leadership experience that focuses on leadership development skills and STEM concepts.
• Higher Achievement Program Inc.: $15,000 to support the Afterschool Academy at three Higher Achievement Centers in low-income neighborhoods. The academy provides approximately 160 middle school students with critical academic support, one-on-one mentoring, high school preparation support, and a variety of STEM enrichment services.
• The Neighborhood Academy: $5,000 to support the development of an integrated STEM curriculum and hands-on learning materials for the students.
• Propel Schools: $7,500 for educational materials and technology to diversify students’ STEM experiences.
• Rosedale Technical College: $5,000 to support the purchase of an inverter spot welding system for the school’s new collision repair program.
• WQED Multimedia: $20,000 to support Design Lives Here, a STEM-based supplemental educational program for students in fifth through eighth grades.