Originally posted on the RFPIO blog.

 

It’s back to school time, so the RFPIO team is giving back to our educational community. For our Q3 philanthropy mission, we’re partnering up with a local school in Beaverton to support their school year initiatives.

There are many causes, and each quarter we think about the best way to lend a helping hand to our community. There are plenty of options online, but we truly love to serve our local organizations. We are fortunate to have the support of our community as a rapidly growing startup and we feel it’s important to give back.

 

Source: American Association of School Librarians

 

As Salesforce partners, we work with Pledge 1% to participate in the culture of giving.

In Q1 we hosted the ROI of Compassion and helped Oregon Food Bank bring over 600 meals to families in need through online donations and an office food drive. In Q2 we got our hands dirty with SOLVE for the Go Green campaign and cleaned up Kelley Point Park on Earth Day. The result? Nearly 6,000 volunteers collected 35 tons of trash and debris from 162 sites.

Now we’re kicking off our Q3 initiative, the Give Back to School campaign. It was difficult to choose from so many wonderful schools near our headquarters, but Elmonica Elementary happens to be the same school where Ganesh’s daughter attends—so we reached out to find out how we could help.

That was when we discovered their amazing new program, MakerSpace.

 

Elmonica Elementary is beginning to use the idea of MakerSpace to enhance the learning environment by combining the benefits of library, media, and technology. The Elmonica staff believes in teaching students to be independent thinkers who will actively learn and create. MakerSpace blends the traditional library experience with 21st Century technology skills. Elmonica would like students to explore STEM learning while they research ideas.

Being a technology company, the RFPIO team was excited to help support this forward-thinking program to support the students at Elmonica. Last week RFPIO donated to the MakerSpace program, giving solar robots and a crazy fort (yes, we’re considering one of these for the office!).

 

 
“In a traditional library setting students listen to a book that is read to them, then check out a book. We want to flip this idea so that students can still listen to a book, then actively engage in processing and creating new information. Students interested in robots can read about them before entering challenges where they build a robot that can move weight or go a certain distance. Elmonica is looking to create active learners in all aspects of the school day. The MakerSpace program will make this learning style achievable.” – Cynthia Moffett, Principal at Elmonica Elementary School

 

Want to contribute to RFPIO’s Give Back to School campaign?

 

Supporting education is incredibly important and we’re excited to help make a positive impact on Elmonica’s bright young minds. You can help too!

We understand if you have local schools you want to work with, and we fully support that. If you’re not sure where to start, and you’d like to join forces with the RFPIO team, you can donate to Elmonica’s MakerSpace program easily by selecting items straight from their Amazon wish list.

Donate online right here to help Elmonica Elementary!