RUTHERFORDTON — The AT&T Foundation — the corporate
philanthropy organization of AT&T Inc. — awarded $25,500 to
support the KidSenses Children’s InterACTIVE Museum through the
AT&T Excelerator competitive technology grant program. Since
2002, the AT&T Excelerator program has provided more than 2,500
technology grants — totaling more than $47.8 million — to organizations
across the country. This year, the AT&T Foundation expanded the
Excelerator grant program for the first time to include AT&T
Southeast’s nine-state service area.
In North Carolina, 17 regional and local nonprofit
organizations will receive a total of $340,000 through the competitive
program. Nationally, nearly $9 million will be received by
organizations serving diverse ethnic groups, low-income families,
people with disabilities, youth or senior adults.
“The AT&T Excelerator grant will allow KidSenses
Children’s InterACTIVE Museum to work with young children and
elementary schools in innovative ways to strengthen science education,”
said Steve F. Saucier, executive director of the museum.
“AT&T continues to deliver new innovations that encourage the use
of technology,” Saucier said. “This is just the kind of public-private
relationship, with a focus on children, which will cultivate in the
next generation innovation through the use of technology. “The
museum will use the grant to support a collaborative effort with
FoothillsConnect Business and Technology Center to bring Webbased
science education to rural elementary students. Funds will pay for the
technology hardware, Web site development and hosting”. “Not only
can technology be a vital component to the success of nonprofit
organizations, it can erase distance and other barriers to provide the
best education to our children,” said Sen. Walter Dalton. “This program
will be a tremendous benefit to the children of our region, just as
appropriate technology benefits community organizations. I applaud
AT&T’s civic leadership in stepping forward with this funding.”
The AT&T Excelerator program provides technology
access to organizations working to strengthen under-served communities.
Helping nonprofits integrate technology into their operations and
community outreach, AT&T Excelerator grants also place technology
tools in the hands of the underserved populations that the nonprofits
work with in order to provide resources such as education programs,
Internet access, computer training and job-skills development.
“For the past six years, the AT&T Excelerator program has
demonstrated the importance of how technology can benefit communities
and organizations,” said LaVoy Spooner, AT&T regional director of
External Affairs. “KidSenses and other organizations in North
Carolina will continue to use technology funded by this program to
empower the community and change the lives of the people whom they
serve on a day-today basis”.
Also on hand were Jane Smith Patterson, executive director
of e-NC, a publicly funded initiative to increase broadband access
and encourage all residents of North Carolina to use technology, and
especially the Internet, to improve the quality of their lives and
their economic prospects.
Contributed photo
Leaders in education and technology joined friends of
KidSenses InterACTIVE Children’s Museum gathered Monday to receive a
$25,500 AT&T Excelerator Grant for the museum. Front row, from
left: Steve Saucier, KidSenses; and Tim Will, Foothills Connect. Second
row: Kim Alexander, Sen. Walter Dalton and Rutherfordton Mayor Sally
Lesher. Third row: Rutherford County School Superintendent John Kinlaw;
Benny Hendrix, executive director of e-NC; Jane Smith Patterson;
Spindale Mayor Mickey Bland; Fred Bayley; Lavoy Spooner with AT&T;
Greg French; County Commissioner Paul McIntosh; and Forest City Mayor
Jimmy Gibson.