Amazon supports STEM in its home state

An e-tail giant is donating a seven-figure sum to make science education more accessible in Washington State.

Amazon has made a $2 million total donation to two Washington nonprofit organizations working increase exposure of STEM and computer science education to hundreds of thousands of Washington state students, especially those from underserved and underrepresented communities. The donation includes $1 million to Washington STEM, a statewide nonprofit organization that advances excellence, innovation and equity in STEM for all Washington students, and $1 million to the Pacific Science Center(PacSci), a nonprofit focused on creating curiosity about and enabling access to science education.

Washington STEM will use the donation to support their work to ensure all students have access to STEM and computer science education and opportunities. The funds will help fill systems-level gaps, from childhood-to-career, specifically focused on students of color, students from low-income backgrounds, students living in rural areas, and girls and young women.

PacSci will use the gift to grow Science On Wheels (SOW), its flagship outreach program that builds interest in science, technology, engineering, and math through interactive workshops, live stage shows, and portable exhibits in schools, libraries, and community centers throughout Washington state. PacSci will increase the number of students that SOW serves in low-income Title I schools. PacSci will also add a computer science curriculum to go along with the existing curriculums, which will teach core concepts and key practices in computational thinking.

“We are thrilled to support more hard-working, curious students by helping improve equitable access to STEM and computer science education in our home state of Washington,” said Jeff Wilke, CEO worldwide consumer, Amazon. “We are excited to work with Washington STEM and PacSci – leaders in STEM and computer science education – as they work to create the resources, access, and innovative opportunities Washington students need to build their best futures, from Seattle to Spokane.”

Amazon has invested more than $50 million to increase access to computer science/STEM education and has donated more than $20 million to organizations that promote computer science/STEM education across the country.