The Dresser-Rand Challenger Learning Center recently received a $10,000 grant from the F.T. and Anna C. Manley Memorial Fund.
The money will be used to finance approximately 20 missions at the Challenger Learning Center, impacting 600 students in fifth grade through eighth grade in the Cattaraugus and Allegany region who have not been able to participate in a mission in the past due to financial limitations.
"We are very grateful to the F.T. and Anna C. Manley Memorial Fund for providing the funding to allow student groups to attend a mission that otherwise would not be able to do so," said Tom Moser, Challenger Learning Center director. "Because of their generosity, we are able to bring STEM education - science, technology, engineering and math - to more students."
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Pictured, from left, are, Stu Smith, president, Challenger Learning Center board of directors; Ron Sutton, senior vice president and senior trust officer, Key Private Bank; Tom Moser, director, Challenger Learning Center; and Thomas Domin, relationship manager vice president, Key Private Bank.
Stu Smith, Challenger Learning Center chairman, added: "Inspiring our children to excel in STEM education is critical, not only for the future of our community, but also for the future of our country as a whole. Contributions from organizations like the F.T. and Anna C. Manley Memorial Fund will help our children realize their dreams."
Schools interested in applying for these funds should contact Moser either by email (Tom@DRCLC.org) or by calling the center at 379-8686 for more information.
The Challenger Learning Center offers two simulated missions - a Voyage to Mars and Rendezvous with Comet Halley - plus a team-building activity, the Great Rocket Design Challenge. Since opening in June 2009, more than 6,500 students from 17 counties in New York and Pennsylvania have participated in these educational programs.
The Learning Center is set to welcome author, speaker and educator June Scobee Rodgers as the guest of honor at their third annual Celebration Dinner on Oct. 11.
Rodgers is the widow of Challenger Space Shuttle Commander Dick Scobee and serves as the founding chairman of the board and as a founding director for Challenger Center for Space Science Education.
The cost is $40 per person. Patron tickets are available for $50 each. Corporate tables for parties of eight people are available for $500. Register online at DRCLC.org/events or send a check, made payable to Challenger Learning Center, to 182 E. Union St., Allegany, NY 14706.