Motorola Invites Its Employees to Participate in National Lab Day

The Motorola Foundation, the charitable arm of Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT), today announced a call to its U.S. employees to participate in the inaugural National Lab Day, a nationwide initiative that aims to build local communities’ support to foster ongoing collaborations among K-12 students, volunteers and educators around science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The initiative, a key part of President Obama’s "Educate to Innovate" campaign, will kick off on May 12 in schools and companies across the country.

 

In addition to engaging Motorola employees in the effort, the Motorola Foundation is providing $100,000 in financial support as a distinguished partner.

 

“Motorola is a company of scientists and engineers. And the goal of National Lab Day matches Motorola’s overarching goal to leverage our employees’ skills and talent to spread excitement about science and engineering among the next generation of inventors,” said Eileen Sweeney, director of the Motorola Foundation. “This type of early engagement is crucial to empowering students today to eventually drive new innovation tomorrow.”

 

This initiative is a part of the company’s larger commitment to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education. For more than 20 years, the company has worked with FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) to introduce students to the limitless opportunities available in engineering and technology careers. In 2010 alone, the Motorola Foundation is providing more than $7.5 million in Innovation Generation grants to support U.S. STEM education and inspire science-related careers, especially for girls and underrepresented groups.

 

The Motorola Foundation also has activated its network of Innovation Generation grantees to spread the word about the National Lab Day initiative.

 

“This is an incredible opportunity to bolster concepts taught in the classrooms with the authority of real-world professionals who use science and math every day,” said Ben Underwood, manager of corporate and foundation relations for Teach For America-Chicago, a Motorola Foundation Innovation Generation grantee. Currently 7,300 Teach For America corps members teach in 35 urban and rural areas profoundly affected by the education achievement gap, including 400 teachers in the Chicago region. “We have shared this opportunity with our teachers and encouraged them to participate.”