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Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Tech philanthropy brings wave of contributions, volunteers to organizations
By Dann Anthony Maurno, Special to Mass High Tech
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“The real vision that corporations and businesses understand is, we need to produce smart kids who will help move this nation forward.” That’s how Roy Temper, vice president of development of the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) robotics competition, makes a connection between the corporate world and education.
New England tech companies are ramping up contributions to educational programs and sending troops of volunteers to schools and on initiatives. Some leaders at organizations on the receiving end of that charity shared their thoughts on what the donations and volunteerism have meant to them.
“It’s the emphasis from Washington on STEM education,” said Temper, referring to science, technology, engineering and mathematics. FIRST is a national nonprofit based in Manchester, N.H., founded in 1989 by Segway inventor Dean Kamen. FIRST sponsors nationwide competitions in robotics and technology for students from age six through high school. FIRST relies chiefly on corporations for sponsorship, including Parametric Technology Corp. of Needham. PTC and its resellers, partners and customers sponsor 55 FIRST teams, donating both high-end product development software and mentorship.
A balance of monetary giving and voluntary work signals strong commitment from a company, according to executive director Joanne Appleton Arnaud of First Literacy, a nonprofit that fosters literacy among Greater Boston adults. Verizon Communications Inc. director of public affairs Stephanie Lee sits on First Literacy’s board, and, Arnaud said, “gives us great help with communications, PR and reaching out to corporate supporters.”
The Verizon Foundation has also granted First Literacy $25,000 per year for two years for Learner Web, a project that Arnaud said, “we would not be able to do without their support.” The web portal for self-directed learning for adults originated at Portland State University in Oregon, which selected Boston as a pilot site but could provide no funding.
Similarly, Bill Berutti, divisional vice president and general manager of PTC’s Arbortext Business Unit, sits on the board at City Year Boston. The offshoot of AmeriCorps operates in 18 U.S. cities and promotes civic leadership among youths. More than 500 PTC employees have provided more than 30,000 hours of physical service over a four-year partnership.
That contribution is invaluable, said Sandra Lopez Burke, City Year Boston’s vice president and executive. “The monetary grant from PTC has grown over the course of the years,” to $55,000 in 2009. City Year is funded 33 percent by the government-financed AmeriCorps, which itself must fight for appropriations every year.
“It gets tight,” said Burke.
Long-Term Investments (aka ‘kids’)
Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Lexington ramped up its financial contribution to Citizen Schools from $25,000 in 2008 to $45,000 in 2009. Citizen Schools, with operations in five Massachusetts cities, partners with public middle schools to extend the learning day for low-income students in communities across Massachusetts and the nation.
There are two “incredibly valuable things” that Cubist does — one is to provide cash and the other is to provide volunteers to teach courses, said Lindsay Sobel, Massachusetts director of development at Citizen Schools.
Such courses offered by Cubist include one on drug development and another called “It Is Rocket Science,” taught by Cubist vice president of regulatory affairs David Mantus. (His father was a rocket scientist with NASA’s Apollo program.) The highlight of the course is a videoconference with NASA scientists. “There’s no amount of money we could have paid (Mantus)” to expose middle schoolers to NASA in that way, said Sobel.
But exposure is the heart of high-tech philanthropy, according to Lance Hartford of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Education Foundation (MassBioEd). “Increasingly, the role is creating bridges between educational institutions and industry,” Hartford said. MassBioEd is closely affiliated with and partly funded by the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (they share office space). In 2001, said Hartford, “the council was concerned that there weren’t enough educated workers to carry on the industry. Our mission is to create that work force.”
MassBioEd is in 167 high schools across the state, providing teacher development, $8,000 grants for equipment and, of course, bridging the gap between companies and students.
Three such companies are EMD Serono Inc., Millipore Corp. and Cubist. EMD maintains a job-shadow program, and Millipore regularly welcomes students to its halls. “They really give students a sense of what is out there and get them excited about science. Biotech is all about patients, meeting unmet medical needs,” said Hartford.
Just a breeding ground for geeks? Hardly.
These companies are not interested only in fostering future drug developers and robotics engineers — they want to foster communities.
Darcy Madden is executive director at Everybody Wins Metro Boston (EWMB), a nonprofit literacy and mentoring program that fosters children’s prospects through one-to-one reading sessions — power lunches — with adults. Life sciences giant Millipore of Billerica has been a partner since 2003, through its Millipore Foundation, and with volunteer readers. EWMB has had “more of a challenge in the last year, with new funding or expanding funding. But we’re fortunate to have great partners to volunteer and support,” said Madden, listing companies such as Millipore, Biogen Idec Inc. and TJX Co. Inc. Volunteerism is a “significant part of the contribution, because it takes people here to do it,” said Madden.
All of this while Michael Moore’s latest rant, “Capitalism: A Love Story,” tours theaters and rails against corporate America. As Lopez Burke of City Year observed: Moore has likely never heard of PTC.
Dann Anthony Maurno is a freelance writer in Salem.
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