{"id":62893,"date":"2023-08-29T10:00:39","date_gmt":"2023-08-29T14:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/?p=62893"},"modified":"2024-03-04T15:21:38","modified_gmt":"2024-03-04T20:21:38","slug":"5-years-8-5-million-in-classroom-technology-supplies-delivered-to-public-schools-across-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/5-years-8-5-million-in-classroom-technology-supplies-delivered-to-public-schools-across-america\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Years, $8.5 Million in Classroom Technology & Supplies Delivered to Public Schools Across America"},"content":{"rendered":"

The impactful partnership of Samsung Electronics America, Inc.<\/strong><\/a> and DonorsChoose<\/strong><\/a>, the leading nonprofit for supporting preK\u201312 public schools, celebrates its fifth anniversary this year. This collaboration, centered around Samsung’s national Solve for Tomorrow<\/strong><\/a> science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) competition for public middle and high school students, has over five years delivered $8.5 million in Samsung technology and classroom supplies to nearly 500 schools participating in Solve for Tomorrow competitions.<\/p>\n

Ann Woo<\/strong><\/a>, Samsung Electronics America’s Head of Corporate Citizenship, described the genesis of the relationship: \u201cIn the early ’20-teens, as Solve for Tomorrow and DonorsChoose both grew, each of us was separately searching for likeminded partners looking to engage with \u2018handraiser\u2019 educators<\/a> and provide classrooms the tools they need to nurture students. From our network within the citizenship community, we knew that teachers on DonorsChoose understand the needs of a classroom better than many. And as the most trusted funding site for teachers, DonorsChoose was perfectly positioned with a white-glove customer experience capability and an established delivery infrastructure. DonorsChoose let us know how well the tech Samsung contributed matched teachers’ needs and would work best for both educators and students. So, in 2018, we explored partnership possibilities, and it\u2019s been a match made in EDU-heaven ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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DonorsChoose CEO Alix Guerrier<\/strong>, speaking in May with students, teachers, judges, and guests at the final round of the 2022-2023 Solve for Tomorrow competition<\/a> in Washington, D.C., described how the Samsung partnership aligns with the DonorsChoose mission, \u201cWe\u2019re working together to accomplish a shared goal by leaning into our strengths to ensure that teachers have the tools and resources they need to provide students in every community with the best possible education. We know from our regular communications with teachers that despite the challenges of their work<\/a>, most teachers would want to remain in their jobs for the next ten years<\/a>. Our job as an organization and as a broader society is to make their work sustainable, and Solve for Tomorrow provides exactly the kind of support teachers need to broaden student participation in STEM<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tabulating and tracking each school\u2019s specific technology choices and arranging the delivery of the right gear to the right school, starting at the State Winners round of competition on up to our National Winners<\/a>, is handled through a bespoke support system developed by DonorsChoose expressly for Solve for Tomorrow<\/a>. The value that they contribute to the partnership was highlighted by the complexity of fulfilling winner prizes in Year 13 of the Solve for Tomorrow competition.<\/p>\n

Three Year 13 National Winners<\/strong>, each received technology prize packages of $100,000: Brandywine High School<\/strong><\/a> (Wilmington, DE) for their low-cost assistive technology for the mobility challenged; Strawberry Crest High School<\/strong><\/a> (Dover, FL) for an app to prevent sports-related heat stroke; and Porter High School<\/strong><\/a> (Porter, TX) for a noninvasive beehive monitoring system to battle pollinator collapse. Seven other National Finalists<\/strong> were awarded $50,000 each. Our Community Choice Award<\/strong> of $10,000 went to Richmond Hill Middle School<\/strong><\/a> (Richmond, GA) for its monitor and companion app to reduce the threat of \u201cnight terrors\u201d for PTSD sufferer and Brandywine added $10,000 to its winnings as the Samsung Employee Choice<\/strong> solution.<\/p>\n

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As the 14th annual Solve for Tomorrow competition kicks off, we\u2019re adding to the celebration of our partnership by launching a new $25,000 prize, the Rising Entrepreneurship Award<\/strong>. Public school teachers can submit their entries now through Friday, October 27, 2023.<\/p>\n

All told, the positive impact of the Solve for Tomorrow<\/a> and DonorsChoose partnership for students, schools, and STEM teachers is reflected in feedback to the DonorsChoose customer experience team:<\/p>\n