STEM

Making STEM come to life at a Pennsylvania elementary school

Staff Reports

Williams’ strives to be an exceptional neighbor in communities where employees live and our businesses operate. We established our Homegrown Giving Program to further the company’s charitable giving through Williams employees that are involved in a volunteer capacity with a non-profit organization in their community.

Carrie Snatchko, a Williams employee, recently used a Williams Homegrown Giving grant to help her daughter’s school where she regularly volunteers. The Pennsylvania school had no library budget, no librarian and a great need for general supplies including the purchase of a Smart board for the library, school supplies in general and library books.

“Through the generous donation by William, we were able to add nearly 100 STEAM-related books to our Makerspace”, said Mandi Figlioli, Assistant to the Superintendent, Burgettstown School. The Maker’s Library Collection includes fiction, non-fiction, technical guides, teacher resource books, and historical fiction. “We are excited to use these books as a launch point for great dialogue and authentic making experiences and we are grateful to have the generous support of local community organizations.”  In addition to the Makers Library, funds were combined with other donations to enable the school to purchase new laptops and LEGO WeDo 2.0 Robotics to add to the selection of high-tech tools in the Makerspace.

Today’s elementary students are tomorrow’s creative problem-solvers. We need to equip them with the necessary STEM knowledge and skills to be innovative and imaginative thinkers.  Through partnerships with schools we are able to engage students with hands-on, minds-on learning opportunities that promote creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking in our efforts in STEM integration.