RICHMOND, Va., Sept. 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- From outdoor
learning gardens to solar-powered cooling systems, this year's
Dominion educational grants will help fund a wide variety of
programs engaging students of all ages in science, technology,
engineering and math studies related to energy, the environment and
workforce development.
For the 2015-16 academic year, more than 140 schools and
educational institutions in 11 states and the District of Columbia will share grants
totaling $1.5 million from the
Dominion Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Dominion
Resources.
"This year's grants will support innovative programs teaching
essential skills to young children as well as young adults," said
Hunter A. Applewhite, president of
the Dominion Foundation. "There is a huge demand for STEM skills in
today's workplace and these marketable skills will be critical to
the success of the energy industry, as well as our nation's
economy, for many years to come."
Dominion's K-12 Education Partnership will give 102 grants to
K-12 schools and educational organizations that support the study
of energy and the environment and STEM-related mini-grants. The
Higher Educational Partnership will award 40 grants to college and
post-secondary schools of up to $50,000 each to fund projects in energy,
environmental studies, engineering and workforce development.
Examples of this year's educational grants include:
- University of Maryland
in College Park, Md., will be
awarded $50,000 for students to
model, design, fabricate and test a solar cooling system with the
highest possible cooling performance, giving students a hands-on
opportunity to solve an important, real-world engineering
problem.
- Old Dominion University in
Norfolk, Va., will receive a
$40,000 grant to build a microgrid (a
localized energy system) to support undergraduate, graduate and
faculty studies and research on sustainable energy practices.
- Kent State University in
Kent, Ohio, will be awarded
$50,000 for a fuel cell technologies
program and lab that exposes students to the science and
engineering of efficient fuel cell technology that can convert
natural gas into electricity with reduced carbon emissions.
- Sea Research Foundation, Inc., New London, Conn., will be awarded
$10,000 for its "Where the City Meets
the Sea" program reaching 1,125 K-12 students each year with
environmental studies about conserving the natural world through
classroom outreach, field research studies and visits to the Mystic
Aquarium.
- Tucker County High School, Tucker, W.Va., will be awarded $10,000 for an expansion of its program to help
its students prepare for STEM occupations related to energy and
environmental protection by partnering and doing field research
with state parks and other environmental organizations.
Nearly 400 grant applications were considered. Recipient schools
and educational organizations are located in Connecticut, Maryland, New
York, North Carolina,
Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island, South Carolina,
Tennessee, Virginia, West
Virginia and the District of
Columbia.
Grants are given by the Dominion Foundation, philanthropic arm
of Dominion Resources, Inc. Dominion Resources is the parent
company of Dominion Virginia/North Carolina Power, Dominion East
Ohio, Dominion Hope, Dominion Transmission, Dominion Carolina Gas
Transmission and Millstone Power Station in Connecticut.
Dominion (NYSE: D), headquartered in Richmond, is one of the nation's largest
producers and transporters of energy. The Dominion Foundation is
dedicated to improving the physical, social and economic well-being
of the communities served by Dominion companies. Dominion and the
Dominion Foundation support nonprofit causes that meet basic human
needs, protect the environment, promote education and encourage
community vitality. Dominion Foundation grants are funded by
shareholder dollars and not borne by customers. For more
information about Dominion and the Dominion Foundation, visit
www.dom.com.
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SOURCE Dominion