Cox Communications employees have awarded a total of $3,300 in grants to local schools, through Cox Charities Innovation in Education Grants. The program provides employee funded grants of up to $2,500 for classroom programs and curriculum that encourage and promote students’ ingenuity and imagination. Last spring, schools were invited to submit applications for funding. This year’s recipients of the grants are:

Southwest High School was selected to receive a $1,600 grant from Cox Charities for the “Girl Code” program, which teaches females how to write code. The purpose of the program is to close the gender gap in technology. Computing is where the future lies, but fewer than 1 in 5 computer science graduates are female. The program will include activities that introduce coding to students and projects they can create and code sequences of commands for input and output.

Porter Elementary School was selected to receive a $1,000 grant from Cox Charities for the “STEM in the Media Center.”  The purpose of this program is to add to the school media center's collection of books with a STEM focus (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).  This program will support students who are interested in reading more about topics related to the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math.

Thomson Middle School was selected to receive a $700 grant from Cox Charities for the “Makey Makey” program.  Through the Makey Makey kit, students are introduced to electronic systems, circuitry, computer science (specifically coding and computer programming), and video game design. Additionally, Makey Makey allows educators to use technology to create and personalize learning experiences that foster independent learning and accommodate learner differences and needs of students.

“One of our core values at Cox is to be good citizens of the communities we serve, and that includes support for youth and education initiatives,” said Bonnie Lopez-Crowe, vice president of Cox’s Middle Georgia Market. “Our local employees funded these grants from their own paychecks, and we’re proud to see the dollars fueling innovation and connecting area students to a much-needed educational edge.”