The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Community Foundation and Life Science Cares Boston:
Life Science Cares Boston is collaborating with the Watertown Community Foundation and four Watertown-based life science companies to launch the Watertown STEM Education Fund, a special effort to fund science, technology, engineering & math programming in the Watertown Public Schools.
Four corporate contributors — Arranta Bio, C4 Therapeutics, Forma Therapeutics & Landmark Bio — and Life Science Cares have committed a total of $15,000 in funding for teacher-driven requests for supplemental materials, books, equipment, special events and speakers, student programs and experimental school or district-wide initiatives.
The fund builds on the Watertown Community Foundation’s annual school-based educational grants program and will increase total funding for the foundation’s grants this fall.
“This exciting new partnership and funding commitment will expand our ability to support Watertown teachers through our annual education grant program. Each year we receive far more grant requests than we can fund, particularly in the area of science and technology. This STEM Fund will truly transform our grant giving capacity and provide teachers and our schools with more resources to support students in the classroom,” said Jan Singer, Watertown Community Foundation Executive Director.
This collective giving program also allows companies, leaders and employees in the burgeoning Watertown life sciences field to learn about Watertown Public Schools and forge deeper relationships with the school STEM community. Today, Watertown is home to Watertown is home to 43 life science companies, many of whom moved to town in the last few years, and there are more on the way.
“As the industry continues to grow in Greater Boston, we are committed to being good neighbors and true partners,” said Sarah MacDonald, Executive Director of Life Science Cares Boston, an industry-wide effort to fight poverty and expand opportunity. “We are thrilled to bring together companies to build relationships and make good on that commitment.”
Grant applications will be distributed to Watertown Public School teachers and staff in mid-October and will be due to the Watertown Community Foundation (WCF) by Nov. 15. Grant review committees — including representatives from Arranta Bio, C4 Therapeutics, Forma Therapeutics and Landmark Bio — will make grant recommendations to the WCF board by early December.
For more information on the new STEM fund, visit https://www.watertownfoundation.org/school-program-grants. Companies wishing to join the effort should contact LSC Boston Executive Director Sarah MacDonald at sarah@lifesciencecares.org.
About Watertown Community Foundation
The Watertown Community Foundation works to build and sustain a vibrant, close-knit community in Watertown — now, and for future generations. To accomplish this, WCF raises funds from people and partner institutions, awards grants to non-profits and community projects, and builds networks of donors, grantees, program participants and stakeholders. Since its inception in 2003, WCF has awarded $ 2 million in grants to programs and organizations serving Watertown.
About Life Science Cares
Life Science Cares leverages the power of the life science industry to solve one of our most intractable social issues — poverty. Currently operating in four industry hubs (Boston, Philadelphia, San Diego and the San Francisco Bay Area), Life Science Cares harnesses the industry’s financial and human capital to support community-based organizations providing access to basic needs, access to education and access to opportunity. Learn more at https://lifesciencecares.org/.