NKyTribune staff and Duke Energy
Duke Energy is investing in Greater Cincinnati students, educators and communities by awarding $264,138 in grants to 21 education programs, including several in Northern Kentucky.
Representatives from the 21 organizations that received grant funding from Duke Energy Wednesday hold up placards showing the total contribution (photos by Mark Hansel).
The grants, which the company announced Wednesday at Cincinnati Public Schools’ Education Center, support energy, engineering and environmental education programs to equip students with the skills needed for successful careers in the energy sector. They also aim to close the achievement gap that often separates low-income students from their peers by funding programs that prevent summer reading loss.”
“We’re funding important initiatives that allow students to explore a variety of science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields,” said Amy Spiller, president of Duke Energy Ohio/Kentucky. “We’re also backing impressive and exciting programs that provide the resources and tools underserved children need to blossom into tomorrow’s leaders.”
The education grants announced today are administered through the Duke Energy Foundation, which is focused on building powerful communities where nature and wildlife thrive, students can excel and a talented workforce drives economic prosperity for all.
Boone County Schools Superintendent Dr. Randy Poe said hundreds of thousands of children will benefit from what occurred Wednesday.
“The K-12 Education Grants from Duke Energy are an excellent program and partnership with the region,” Poe said. “They do so many wonderful things with summer reading slide, stem clubs, and other programs. This is the type of thing that a great community partner does and people don’t see the end result right away as we keep leveraging and leveraging these great opportunities for kids.”
Duke Energy and its Foundation, through various community investment vehicles, provided more than $2.9 million in support of Greater Cincinnati initiatives in 2018. In addition, the company’s employees and retirees contributed more than $1.2 million to area nonprofits, including United Way and ArtsWave, last year.
Here are the grants announced Wednesday (NKY recipients in Bold):
*Adventure Crew
$13,000 for environmental education and empowerment through outdoor adventure
*Boone County School District
$10,000 for student energy teams & STEM clubs
*Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
$7,500 for Summer Passport to Encourage Reading program
*Cincinnati Early Learning Centers, Inc.
$12,000 to support early literacy and kindergarten readiness
*Cincinnati Museum Center
$10,000 to stimulate interest in STEM and promote learning about energy, the environment and engineering
*Cincinnati Public Schools
$19,738 for July Read and Ride literacy enrichment program
*Contemporary Arts Center
$5,000 for CAC Makerspace sessions for participants to explore engineering, tech, science and art methods
*Covington Partners in Prevention
5,000 for summer youth program to eliminate learning loss for Covington students
*Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati
$9,000 for summer tutoring to address summer slide in math and reading
*Imago, Inc.
$14,400 to expand environmental education program to CPS’ Academy of World Languages
*iSPACE Inc.
$12,000 to provide hands-on STEM learning opportunities to students from low-income areas
*Literacy Network of Greater Cincinnati
$10,000 to sustain and grow reading programs for economically disadvantaged students
*Miami University
$10,000 for student case study competition focused on critical issues in the energy industry
*Northern Kentucky Education Council Inc.
$15,000 to help struggling young students with the support they need to be successful in reading and math
*Northern Kentucky University Foundation Inc.
$32,000 for teachers to participate in high-quality, classroom-embedded professional development in STEM subjects
*Ohio River Foundation
$10,000 for hands-on programs that allow students to learn about river ecology, pollution and habitat protection
*Partnership for Innovation in Education
$20,000 for immersion learning labs that provide hands-on STEM education and experiences for underserved students
*The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County
$15,000 for Summer Adventure program to help children prevent summer learning loss
*Teach for America
$10,000 to increase the number of STEM teachers in Greater Cincinnati schools as well as strengthening their impacts on students
*Thomas More University
$14,500 for high school students to attend an immersive weeklong camp that provides hands-on activities in STEM and other topics
*University of Cincinnati Foundation
$10,000 to support gardening and 3D-printing clubs for middle schoolers to explore STEM topics and future careers
Northern Kentucky Education Council Executive Director Polly Lusk Page, right, accepts a $15,000 grant from Amy Spiller, president of Duke Energy Ohio/Kentucky, for the organization’s One to One program. The grant will be used to help young students struggling with reading and math.
Polly Lusk Page, executive director of the Northern Kentucky Education Council said the One to One program Duke supports with the grant makes a huge difference in the lives of area children.
“One to one is a program where we train volunteer coaches across the community to work with a struggling student in either math or reading, once a week throughout the entire school year. It’s an incredible investment by Duke. Coaches receive training and materials to support the students as they read with them and at the end of the school year, each student gets a new book purchased by the coach based on their interests.”
Later this year, Duke Energy will announce the Greater Cincinnati recipients of its workforce, Urban Revitalization and nature grants.
Contact the Northern Kentucky Tribune at news@nkytrib.com
