United Way of
Massachusetts Bay
BoSTEM

5 Ways Your Company Can Invest in a Better Future for STEM

At BoSTEM, we’re allies for students who normally have minimal access to STEM fields – and you can be one too! Check out five ways you and your company can inspire students to pursue STEM careers, and have a positive impact on their lives.

  1. Create accessible, hands on activities like BoSTEM’s STEM kits. Learning through creating and tinkering is the cornerstone of STEM education, and an easy way to inspire STEM learning. Completing a STEM project deepens a student’s engagement and empowers them to continue on the STEM Path.
  2. Volunteer with nonprofits in order to give students access to real STEM professionals and career role models. Here are some ways to volunteer (even during COVID-19): Do a STEM Chat, help create engaging programs, or do a Day of Service. 
  3. Host students for a (virtual or non-virtual) field trip to your company. Students have minimal access to industry professionals in STEM, and seeing your position in real life will influence a student’s future career path. For more information on how to host a field trip through United Way, contact Louis Baptista at baptista@supportunitedway.org.
  4. Give to local nonprofits specializing in creating open access to STEM Educational events. Here are a few you can donate to today: Sociedad Latina, Breakthrough Greater Boston, and of course, United Way BoSTEM.
  5. Change by looking inward to your own company to assure you have proper policies in place to promote, assist, and inspire low income students, people of color, women, and LGBTQIA+ youth. Some questions to think about:
  • Do you have a scholarship program to promote low income youth through the education that would be necessary for a job at your company? 
  • Do you offer internships that are marketed and ethical to disenfranchised youth? 
  • Are you advertising for your jobs in places that would reach young professionals in historically impoverished areas?

We can all be the change necessary for STEM to have a more diverse and ethical workforce. Give yourself a pat on the back for reading this article to think of new ways to inspire youth towards STEM careers….and then try out any or all of the steps above and make a better future for STEM!

If you’d like to learn more about how you or your company can get involved in securing STEM futures for kids, follow the link below, or contact Louis Baptista at lbaptista@supportunitedway.org. 

Change can’t happen without you. Together, we can make STEM access equitable for all.