Students in various Sacramento County school districts have received thousands of dollars in donated materials from Chevron, that company said in a press release.
At Arden Middle School in the San Juan Unified School District, life science teacher Matthew Rowland received a computer microscope. In Elk Grove, Arnold Adreani Elementary School teacher Tracy Jerome received science models and games.
The gas company donated $1 for every eight-gallon-or-larger tank of gas purchased at participating stations in October 2012 in Sacramento County, according to a press release. That total came to $413,000; San Juan Unified received $115,000, Elk Grove Unified received about $84,000, and Sacramento City Unified got about $50,000.
The full press release from Chevron follows:
Fuel Your School Program Benefits 56,366 Students in Sacramento County
Chevron-DonorsChoose.org program funded $413,125 for 540 classroom projects based on 8+ gallon fuel purchases and online project postings
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Jan. 16, 2013 – Chevron U.S.A. Inc. and DonorsChoose.org today announcedthat its Fuel Your School program, which launched for the first time this year in Sacramento County, funded $413,125, benefitting 540 local public school classroom projects and impacting 56,366 students.
Through Chevron’s Fuel Your School program, teachers at 155 Sacramento County public schools received critical classroom resources. Matthew Rowland, a life science teacher at Arden Middle School in Sacramento, received a computer microscope, which allows his students to learn biology while using digital science tools to explore and experiment.
“Students in my science class are eager to use technology to explore the world around them,” Rowland said. “Thanks to Fuel Your School, we can utilize computer microscopy to project large images for the whole class to see and discuss. The computer microscope can be used in many labs for students to use independently or as a powerful demonstration device that brings the science to life.”
Through the Fuel Your School program, Chevron contributed $1 for purchases of eight or more gallons, up to $500,000, from Oct. 1 to Oct. 31 at participating Chevron and Texaco stations in Sacramento County, adding up to a total contribution of $413,125 to benefit public school classroom projects posted on DonorsChoose.org.
“A healthy STEM education pipeline is critical to producing a workforce that can compete in the global marketplace,” said Steve Burns, manager of state government affairs at Chevron. “Investments developed through programs such as the Fuel Your School program with DonorsChoose.org are also investments in the long-term success of our company.”
The purpose of the Fuel Your School program is to help support and improve critical education programming and resources, particularly in the STEM subjects – science, technology, engineering and math – to help prepare students for the growing number of technical jobs in the modern economy, including possible engineering positions at Chevron.
“Teachers spend on average more than $350 of their own money every year on materials for their students,” said Charles Best, CEO of DonorsChoose.org. “This incredible demand explains why the Fuel Your School program with Chevron has grown to impact more than 56,000 students this year in Sacramento County.”
In 2012, the Fuel Your School program expanded from two markets to nine markets, including Sacramento County, Alameda and Contra Costa counties, Kern County and Orange County in Calif.; Salt Lake and Davis counties, Utah; Multnomah County, Ore.; Harris County, Texas; St. Tammany, Orleans and Plaquemines parishes, La.; and Jackson County, Miss. A total of $4.49 million was generated at participating Chevron and Texaco stations in October 2012, benefitting 5,673 classroom projects at 1,733 K-12 public schools in the nine U.S. markets. Since its inception in 2010, Fuel Your School has benefitted a total of 8,915 classroom projects.
An infographic showing the impact of the 2012 Fuel Your School program and top most requested STEM resources for classrooms is available at http://www.fuelyourschool.com. Portions of projects were funded by other third-party donations.
Elk Grove Unified School District
- 108 projects funded
- 8,754 students impacted
- $83,782.22 funds contributed
- 27 schools benefitted
Sacramento City Unified School District
- 74 projects funded
- 6,284 students impacted
- $49,980.03 funds contributed
- 33 schools benefitted
San Juan Unified School District
- 162 projects funded
- 25,183 students impacted
- $114,913.33 funds contributed
- 37 schools benefitted
