Facebook hosted a celebration March 21 at the Fort Worth Data Center for the 2019 recipients of Community Action Grants.
The program was created to address needs in the Fort Worth and Tarrant County area by putting the power of technology to use for community benefit, connecting people online or off, and improving STEM education, Facebook said in an announcement.
Facebook is invested in the long-term vitality of the community, a news release said, and awarded 18 nonprofits and schools grants to support short-term, high-impact projects.
“The partnership between Facebook and the City of Fort Worth is incredible, and the Community Action Grants are just one example,” Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price said at the event.
“Facebook’s investment in a wide variety of community programs and initiatives, from supporting STEM education to encouraging the growth of our technology and innovation district, is positively shaping Fort Worth’s future,” she said.
Ed Ames, Site Manager at the Facebook Fort Worth Data Center, said the grants program allows Facebook to promote the creative use of technology, to positively impact the community and support STEM education.
“We are incredibly proud to work with these schools and nonprofits that serve to make Fort Worth and Tarrant County a wonderful place to live and work,” Ames said.
“It is a wonderful day in Tarrant County when a great corporate citizen like Facebook supports so many worthwhile community outreach organizations,” Tarrant County Commissioner Gary Fickes.
2019 Facebook Fort Worth Data Center Local Community Action Grant Recipients
Artes de la Rosa
$15,000
This grant will fund school materials, supplies, and production of their after-school arts program offered at little or no cost.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County
$15,000
This grant will help fund a MakerSpace and additional STEM programming.
Community Storehouse of Keller
$5,000
This grant will be used to enhance current STEM programming to further assist low-income, “digitally disadvantaged” children in the community.
Wayne A. Cox Elementary in Roanoke
$4,933.31
This grant will fully fund the school’s STEAM lab.
Dream Park in Fort Worth’s Trinity Park
$20,000
This grant will help build a universally inclusive playground where children of all abilities can interact and play together side-by-side.
Fort Worth Independent School District
$36,300
This grant will fully fund the costs associated with training 25 FWISD sixth-grade teachers in the TVS Coding model.
Fort Worth Museum of Science and History
$15,000
The equipment purchased with this grant will allow for an expansion of Current Science, one of the most trafficked locations within the museum.
Girls Inc. of Tarrant County
$15,000
This grant will promote a new cohort for rising eighth graders, create more exposure to STEM workplace environments to better equip girls for STEM careers, and increase STEM programming.
Girl Scouts of Texas Oklahoma Plains
$25,000
This grant will fully fund the programming for a STEM Center of Excellence field trip series.
Housing Authority of the City of Fort Worth
$8,200
This grant will allow greater access to computers and technology for the clients served.
Junior Achievement of the Chisholm Trail
$10,000
This grant will be used to implement Reverse JA Days and the JA Company Program, which will have approximately 2,500 students participate.
Northwest ISD Education Foundation
$15,000
This grant will support STEM initiatives at elementary school campuses across the district and provide new technologies, resources, or collaborative spaces to elementary students at more than six district campuses.
United Way of Tarrant County (LVTRise)
$8,500
This grant will fund the technology and supplies to support the digital literacy program at the LVTRise Community Center.
The Welman Project
$1,928
This grant will fully fund STEAM reuse videos and additional warehouse computers to help sustain the project in the years ahead.
YMCA of Metropolitan Fort Worth
$15,000
This grant will fund robotics kits at each site to further promote STEM programming for local children.