HANCOCK COUNTY — Amazon has donated $20,000 to the Mt. Vernon Education Foundation to support science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, programming.
The e-commerce giant recently launched a 615,000-square foot fulfillment center off West County Road 300N east of Mt. Comfort Road, in the Mt. Vernon school district and just down the road from Mt. Comfort Elementary School.
“Amazon is committed to leveraging its scale for good,” Andrew Fair, general manager of the Amazon facility, said in a news release. “We’re proud to give back to the communities where our employees live and work, and we knew that supporting Mt. Vernon school district was a priority. We’ll continue to find ways to contribute to the betterment of this community.”
Specifics on how the funds will be used in Mt. Vernon’s STEM program are still being finalized, according to the news release. Considerations include furthering student opportunities for drones and STEM pathways like the district’s vocational welding track.
Renee Oldham, executive director for the Mt. Vernon Education Foundation, said in the release that the foundation shares the community vision with Amazon for furthering educational opportunities for Mt. Vernon students.
“We’re extremely grateful that Amazon recognizes our foundation as a meaningful source that will positively impact the lives and educational opportunities of our students, and we look forward to future collaborations with Amazon,” Oldham said.
Mt. Vernon was one of the state’s first school districts to be STEM Certified kindergarten through 12th grade by the Indiana Department of Education.
“Mt. Vernon recognizes that STEM experience for all students is necessary to have a fundamental understanding in those skills; STEM proficiency will be an integral component of their skills needed to succeed in the 21st century,” the news release states.
