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PLU Awarded $14,000 for Washington Youth Development Nonprofit Relief Fund
PLU Awarded $14,000 for Washington Youth Development Nonprofit Relief Fund
By Veronica Craker
PLU Marketing & Communications
School’s Out Washington and the Washington State Department of Commerce has awarded Pacific Lutheran University a grant for $14,000 from its Washington Youth Development Nonprofit Relief Fund.
The grant will go toward the Tacoma/South Puget Sound MESA program, which prioritizes early exposure to STEM topics and hands-on STEM activities for those underrepresented such as African American, Hispanic/Latino, Native American, Pacific Islander, and female students.
“This grant is important to MESA because these students of color represent the future. We are doing amazing work in the community and getting this grant shows how engaged and committed PLU is when it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion in the STEM field,” said Penda Samba, MESA program director. “We are planning to use the grant by enforcing strong STEM-related activities and innovative virtual programming.”
The grant will be used to purchase at-home science kits, iPads for students to check-out, and peer tutoring services within the MESA program. Learn more at plu.edu/MESA.
The Washington Youth Development Nonprofit Relief Fund was created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that forced schools to move to remote learning. School’s Out Washington and the Washington State Department of Commerce allocated $9.4 million to support schools. Of the 612 eligible applicants submitted, 421 were approved funding —including PLU.
