Women and Girls Fund supports STEM for Girls Camp

Author: Carroll University

Published Date: 5/9/2018

Categories: Corporate and Foundation Funding University News


Girl wading in stream
A $5,000 grant from the Women and Girls Fund of the Waukesha County Community Foundation will help support Carroll University’s STEM for Girls/STEM para Chicas summer camp.

The camp, is a five-day camp that hosts approximately 60 girls from Milwaukee and Waukesha counties. It is designed to educate middle and high school aged girls about opportunities in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields. The experience includes opportunities to meet and speak with successful women working in STEM fields, workshops led by women scientists with hands-on experiences, mentorship from high school and college students, tours of local STEM-related businesses and more. Support for the camp is also provided by the Brady Corporation Foundation.
 
“The grant funding that we’ve received from the Brady Foundation and the Women and Girls Fund of Waukesha County will mean a world of difference for our program,” said Maria Ramirez, Carroll’s director of pre-college programs. “Given that this is a day program, we rely on parents and families to transport their children to and from campus. Yet we recognize that the transportation element can be inconvenient or impossible for families who do not have flexible work hours or who do not have cars. These grant funds have allowed us to provide a morning and afternoon shuttle for Waukesha and Milwaukee  students who are not able to get a ride to campus. 
 
“Furthermore, many times grant funding can only be used for students at a particular income level or economic status. This can result in programming which segregates our young people by socioeconomic status. Because these funds are open for all students, are we are looking forward to welcoming a diverse group of girls from a variety of cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds to campus this summer. Not only will our young women be learning about STEM fields of study and careers, they will also be learning about the importance of connecting with people who are different from them and the benefits of working in diverse teams.”

The grant was recognized at the organization’s annual Women of Distinction Awards Luncheon. The Women and Girls Fund of Waukesha County seeks to aid and enrich the lives of women and girls in our community by providing financial grants that enable opportunities otherwise unavailable to them.

 
Panoramic View of campus