Full STEAM Conference Ahead!

Working in collaboration with Collier County Public Schools (CCPS), the AAUW Greater Naples Branch will offer 250 5th grade girls enrolled in CCPS schools a STEAM program including two hands-on experiment kits, safety goggles, a book titled Girls Think of Everything written—and autographed for the girls—by Catherine Thimmesh, and links to professional videos of prominent local women working in STEAM fields.

All program components have been vetted by STEAM professionals at CCPS and the AAUW Greater Naples Branch.

“Although the pandemic forced us to temporarily discontinue the in-person STEAM conference, we are committed to providing these girls with the opportunity to explore their passion for STEAM.” Charmaine Klein, the chairperson for the STEAM program commented.

The AAUW STEAM program provides 5th grade girls in all 32 elementary schools the opportunity to cultivate their love of STEAM. Girls are selected by their teachers based on the demographics of each school as well as the girls’ interest or aptitude in STEAM.

With the goal of reaching 250 girls this year, AAUW Greater Naples Branch intends to serve approximately 16% of the local fifth grade girls. AAUW is a national organization which has been empowering women as individual and as a community since 1881.

For more than 140 years, AAUW has worked to improve the lives of millions of women and their families. AAUW Values are: Nonpartisan; Fact-based; Integrity; Inclusion andvIntersectionality.

The Greater Naples Branch is one of the most active in Florida with approximately 100 members. In addition to the STEAM program, the Naples branch established a scholarship program for deserving local women more than two decades ago. Funded through the Greater Naples AAUW Charitable Foundation, Inc., a total of $24,000 in scholarships were awardedto 12 deserving local women in 2021. Through its Reading is Fun! program, AAUW Greater Naples Branch works with public school librarians to provide new books of their very own to children in three high-needs public elementary schools, Golden Terrace North, Golden Terrace South, and Avalon, where approximately 95% of the students are on free or reduced lunches. In addition, in collaboration with Florida Gulf Coast University, trained members of the AAUW Greater Naples Branch facilitate AAU StartSmart salary negotiation workshops to help close the persistent wage gap. The Branch also offers educational programs and a variety of activities for its members, including opportunities to promote AAUW’s public policy agenda.

If you would like to help support these community service programs or join this amazing organization, please visit us at https://greaternaples-fl.aauw.net/