Month: February 2024

Verizon

In Polk County, the beautiful and rural southeastern corner of Tennessee, internet access for the often isolated communities has been a challenge for residents — including the student body of Polk County schools. That’s why the Verizon Innovative Learning programs in the district, which include Chilhowee Middle School, Copper Basin Elementary School, Copper Basin High School, and Polk County High School, have been so revolutionary.

“The geography in our area does play a huge role in our students’ lives,” says Danielle McClary, Instructional Technology Coach and Verizon Innovative Learning Lab Mentor, of the county’s mountainous and river-crossed terrain. “We have many students who live in pretty isolated areas. They don’t have internet connection and often have spotty cell connection. So that has created barriers for our school and all of our schools in our district.”

Thanks to the Verizon programs, all students now have access to technology, without having to travel significant distances. “Our school has completely transformed,” says McClary. “We went from having virtually no or little access to technology in our classrooms to every student having a device.”

For their part, the students love the technology and the focus on STEM. “We’ve never had anything big at our school like this,” says Kenzie Stamey, an eighth grader at Chilhowee Middle School, of the cutting-edge tech, from VR goggles to 3D printers. “It makes me feel proud of our school because we’re a little school from a little tiny county.”

But it’s not just the impact on their secondary education that the students are thinking about. With exposure to STEM fields, they have radical new ideas for their future studies and careers, too. “A part of our STEM classes is career exploration,” says McClary. “So they are not only doing hands-on projects and learning how to use these devices and programs, but they’re also at the same time researching and learning about careers that have a STEM focus.”

“It opens up more careers for kids who didn’t know they could have those jobs,” says Stamey, who aims to be a physical therapist or an ultrasound tech someday.

One such fellow student in the district is Titus Duckworth, a senior at Copper Basin High School. Without Verizon Innovative Learning, Duckworth would have had little exposure to technology, as it was lacking both at school and at home. He’s now thinking about his future career differently. “STEM classes changed, like, the course of everything,” says Duckworth, “because I’m looking to go to college and study electrical engineering.”

With remote work on the rise and STEM careers expanding in the area, McClary hopes her graduates stay in the community. “Being able to prepare them for jobs that will allow them to be successful but also stay local is extremely important,” she says.

For free education resources including hundreds of free K-12 lessons, immersive learning experiences, and professional development courses aligned to micro-credentials to help educators learn new skills and feel confident integrating technology into the classroom, visit Verizon Innovative Learning HQ. 

“We’ve never had anything big at our school like this. It makes me feel proud of our school because we’re a little school from a little tiny county.”

Kenzie Stamey, student, Chilhowee Middle School

Originally published by Annie Kate on ABC57

Just hours after delivering her sixth State of the State Address, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer kicked off a state tour in Benton Harbor, checking out the Emma Jean Hull Flats on Riverview Drive.

Whitmer is pledging to spend $1.4 billion on nearly 10,000 homes in the Mitten State by the end of the year, the largest investment in housing in Michigan history, she said.

Watch the video here.

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Katherine Neebe, chief sustainability and philanthropy officer at Duke Energy, joins co-host Mandi McReynolds to discuss the company’s commitment to one of the largest clean energy transitions in North America. Mandi and Katherine explore the role of energy companies in ESG, including how to achieve a balanced energy transition while meeting the diverse needs of customers and stakeholders.

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Looking for more? Subscribe to the ESG Talk podcast on Apple, Spotify, Google, and YouTube.

As a Foundation Ambassador, a Green Bay Packers fan, and leader of the Midwest Ambassador region, Andre Price carries a mantra daily. He believes that “while one person can’t help everyone, we can all help one person, giving them the support they need to pass it on and help someone else.”

Andre joined Maximus about 13 years ago as a Supervisor of the Cook County Child Support Modification Project—which supports the largest urban area in Illinois. Now, as the Project Manager for the Illinois Modification and Employer Related Services, he utilizes skills learned and his passion for giving back to create a meaningful impact as a Foundation ambassador regional co-lead.

Andre first became involved with the Foundation through grantee partner award announcements, where employees can deliver grant award checks directly to the new grantee partners.

“Given the opportunity to donate, vote, and visit future grantee partners has allowed me to impact my community by supporting local nonprofits that serve my community,” he said. “It’s great when you can do things to impact the community; it’s even better when you can impact your community.”

This experience made him curious to learn more about the Foundation and its grantmaking program. In 2021, Andre deepened his impact with the Foundation from ambassador to regional co-lead when manager Nancy Kim recommended getting the Chicago office more engaged with the Foundation.

“My goal was to find more ways to support the Foundation from the local level while finding ways for employees to give back whether they were in-office, remote, or hybrid,” he explained.

Over the years, Andre has been constantly inspired by his work as an ambassador in his community. One of his most fond memories is from a recent school supply drive held with the Chicago office.

“My team and I held a school supply drive to support a classroom at a local Chicago school. After the drive, we delivered the donations, and I have never seen kids so excited for school supplies.” He continued, “Teachers and parents came to tears when we walked in with the boxes of supplies. One teacher said she had never had everything needed for their classroom. As a child of a single parent myself, I was happy that I could pay it forward to help other parents.”

Giving back and paying it forward is essential to Andre, and he finds fulfillment knowing he is trying to help those who may need it most.

“Growing up and throughout my career at Maximus, a lot of people helped me get to where I am, and they didn’t have to do that,” he said. “I do this work to pay it forward to help others like those who helped me.”

Giving back to the communities we serve

The Maximus Foundation is one of the ways Maximus employees are doing something greater together. Established by the Maximus Board of Directors in 2000, the Maximus Foundation is an independent, employee-led, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Employee donors pool their charitable contributions together through the Foundation, double their impact on the grantmaking program through Maximus’ dollar-for-dollar matching pledge, and make their voices heard by nominating and voting for future grantee partners. Though the Foundation focuses its giving strategy on grantmaking, it also helps coordinate corporate-wide humanitarian efforts and empowers employees to donate their time and skills to nonprofits. Their inspired giving and volunteerism help accelerate the missions of nonprofits on the front lines of the communities we serve. Learn more at  maximus.com/foundation.