“The generous investment from KMMG will build upon this momentum and enable the AWIM programs to inspire and educate more students in Georgia and Alabama schools with hands-on STEM activities.” Lori Gatmaitan, director of the SAE Foundation
WARRENDALE, Pa. (PRWEB) March 11, 2021
SAE Foundation announced today it has received a donation of $220,000 from Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia (KMMG) to expand SAE International’s A World In Motion® (AWIM) program and build upon the strong STEM engagement in Troup, Harris and Meriwether Counties in Georgia, as well as in Chambers County and Lanett City, Alabama.
“Despite the current challenges facing our learning environments, the industry partnerships we have formed enable us to continue to deliver both in-classroom and virtual AWIM program offerings,” said Lori Gatmaitan, director of the SAE Foundation. “The generous investment from KMMG will build upon this momentum and enable the AWIM programs to inspire and educate more students in Georgia and Alabama schools with hands-on STEM activities.”
As a part of Kia’s longtime partnership with SAE on community STEM outreach, KMMG has also supported the region's annual SAE JetToy Competition. This signature SAE event brings together more than 500 students from local schools in Georgia and Alabama in a team format to design and build the most efficient and smooth-running balloon-powered vehicle. Students take what they learned in the classroom activities to compete against other teams in distance, accuracy and timed events. Kia volunteers serve as track judges at the competition as well as volunteers in the classroom prior to and following the event.
“Since 2012, KMMG has supported SAE’s AWIM program, reaching more than 78,000 students in over 60 schools in Georgia and Alabama,” said Chris Miller, chief administrative officer at KMMG. “We are honored to support a program that has built such a strong, sustainable model for teacher training, student learning and volunteer engagement within our communities—giving students the solid foundation they need for future STEM studies and careers.”
SAE’s AWIM program provides educators with resources to help increase students’ understanding of and achievement in STEM subjects, including information technology and computer science. Over the past three decades, AWIM has reached six million students globally and has been supported by more than 30,000 industry professionals as volunteers.
For more information on how to get involved with the SAE Foundation, visit: http://www.saefoundation.org.
To learn more about SAE’s AWIM program, visit: https://www.sae.org/learn/education/.
About SAE Foundation
The SAE Foundation encourages and increases student achievement and participation in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to build an inclusive, STEM-fluent workforce. Funds raised by the SAE Foundation support SAE International’s award-winning A World In Motion® (AWIM) program, Collegiate Design SeriesTM (CDS), awards and scholarships. SAE’s STEM education programs enable students to develop the 21st century skills needed to succeed in real-world work environments and connect classroom learning with real-life application. Overall, SAE’s STEM programs have reached more than six million students worldwide and engaged more than 30,000 STEM industry professionals as volunteers. SAE International is a global association engaging nearly 200,000 engineers, technical experts and volunteers to advance mobility knowledge and solutions for the benefit of humanity. http://www.saefoundation.org.
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