SME Toy Donation aims to promote early STEM engagement.
Press Release Summary:
To help address shortage of workers skilled in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), SME is handing out nearly 600 educational toys to children in Detroit area. SME 2013 president Dennis Bray, citing playtime as "ideal opportunity to encourage kids to have fun with concepts related to STEM," equated early connections as "vital to later educational and vocational interest in the manufacturing field." Toys will also direct children to ManufacturingIsCool.com.
Original Press Release:
SME Donates Hundreds of Toys Through Toys for Tots
Aims to promote early STEM engagement through donation of toys that entertain, educate
DEARBORN, Mich. – A country built on and known for innovation, the United States is now facing its most serious shortage of workers skilled in science, technology, engineering and mathematics since the 1950s. In manufacturing alone, it is anticipated that there will be 6 million unfilled jobs by 2020. Mindful that a foundation for the future must be put in place today, SME, a nonprofit organization that advances manufacturing, is handing out nearly 600 educational toys to children in the Detroit area this holiday season.
“We need to engage children sooner and in more robust ways. We cannot count on school alone,” said Dennis Bray, SME 2013 president. “Playtime, in fact, offers an ideal opportunity to encourage kids to have fun with concepts related to STEM. Promoting early connections is vital to later educational and vocational interest in the manufacturing field.”
SME’s educational toy donation also aims to address a shortage of women in the traditionally male-dominated field. Currently, women make up less than 25% of the U.S. manufacturing industry workforce, 11% of executive officers in manufacturing and only 2% of CEOs.
“Toys, including those we are donating from educational toy leader Fat Brain Toys, make science-based learning exciting and entertaining for both boys and girls,” added Bray. “Opportunities, including in the area of high-tech manufacturing, are only growing. From teachers and students, to parents and organizations such as SME, we all need to put maximum effort toward developing a pipeline of 21st-century workers who know how to make things.”
The toys will also direct children to the ManufacturingIsCool.com website to further explore the importance of making things. This award-winning site is sponsored by the SME Educational Foundation which provides grants and scholarships to inspire, prepare and support children’s interest in STEM fields.
SME is delivering the educational toys this holiday season to area children though the River Rouge Toys for Tots distribution center, located at the Walter White Elementary and Community Resource Center, 550 Eaton, River Rouge. SME’S donation is valued at more than $15,000.
Toys 2013
About SME
SME connects all those who are passionate about making things that improve our world. As a nonprofit organization, SME has served practitioners, companies, educators, government and communities across the manufacturing spectrum for more than 80 years. Through its strategic areas of events, media, membership, training and development, and the SME Education Foundation, SME is uniquely dedicated to advancing manufacturing by addressing both knowledge and skill needs for industry. At SME, we are making the future. Together.
Media Contact:
Don Tanner
248.626.0006
