Kids & Family
Amazon Donates $20,000 to Local Girl Scouts Council
The funds will help the organization to expand STEM programming.
Recently, Brian Fontenot and Victoria Lasi, Amazon’s Joliet fulfillment center General Manager and Operations Financial Analyst respectively, and other Amazon employees presented the Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana with a $20,000 donation. The funds will aid the organization in funding STEM programs for young girls through 2020.
“Providing young girls with the opportunity to learn skills in STEM fields through hands-on activity is critical to developing the innovators of tomorrow,” said Fontenot. “We’re excited to work side-by-side with organizations like Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana to create those opportunities.”
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One of the programs that the donation will support is the expansion of the GirlSpace program, a year-round after school educational program encouraging life skills and learning, at the Girl Scouts’ gathering place in Joliet. A portion of the program’s educational component involves developing STEM skills for young girls, which Fontenot believes is important.
“It is our pleasure to accept this donation from Amazon that will increase the number of new opportunities for young girls in the area to engage in STEM experiences,” said Vanessa Jones-Watt, Director of GirlSpace Community Engagement. “Our girls are eager to learn and experience more and partnerships such as this ensure that we can meet their interest in kind.”
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The donation will support STEM programming for nearly 200 girls from the Joliet area who are expected to participate in the GirlSpace program this school year.
Images via Lisa Miller Photography
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