Boys & Girls Club receives $15K for STEM Program
Thirty-nine teenagers from the Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens graduated from a summer STEM program last week in which they learned about electricity and renewable energy as part of a New York Power Authority (NYPA).
At the event, 174 Power Global presented a $15,000 check to support the program.
“The Variety Boys and Girls Club is so much more than a physical space, it’s where young minds come to grow,” said Variety CEO Costa Constantinides. “Programming like NYPA’s five-week STEM program gives kids hands-on experience with career paths and subject matter that is all around them, but not necessarily accessible.”
The middle-school students spent five weeks learning the basics of energy production and consumption through interactive and animated lesson plans. They engaged in games and hands-on learning opportunities, such as a contest to make the fastest wind turbine.
The students also investigated how different new renewable energy systems will work throughout New York State, as well as the battery storage project proposed for Astoria, which will store renwable sources of energy from upstate, and is being built by 174 Global Power.
To wrap up the program, students participated in a career panel event with subject matter experts from NYPA, 174 Power Global and Con Edison who spoke about their work and answered questions.
“Western Queens generates roughly 60 percent of the city’s power, and programs like this show our local kids opportunities to participate in the fast-growing green energy sector they may not have previously known about,” added Consantinides.
“We’re committed to supporting programs that inspire the next generation of STEM professionals,” added Henry Yun, CEO of 174 Global Power. “174 Power Global is committed to providing green economy jobs to the local community, in particular at a location that is close to our energy storage project, and this STEM program is a perfect fit with our mission of creating real change by working together.”