Community Fund Grants are one of the many ways that Davie Community Foundation provides pathways for caring people to leave a legacy that will shape the future. This year, a total of $184,447 was awarded to various projects and causes within Davie County! The grants were made from the earnings of Community-Unrestricted and Community-Area of Interest Funds in partnership with some Donor Advised Fund holders.
These grants are made annually through a competitive application process. A committee reviews the applications, hears updates from former recipients, and selects grant recipients. The Foundation currently concentrates its grant making on proposals from non-profit organizations that address Youth, Literacy, Education, Health, or Poverty in Davie County. Proposals must benefit the citizens of the county.
Alongside many of the nonprofits who received Community Fund Grants, multiple schools in our community received grants to host summer camps for students such as: Camp AU-some, A Summer Luau, STEM Pipeline Camp, PRIDE Summer Camp, Camp Invention, and Summer Learning Academy. In the coming weeks we are excited to share with you more about each of these summer camps and the incredible things students are learning. The first Community Grant funded camp to take place this summer was STEM Pipeline Camp at Davie County High School.
STEM Pipeline Summer Camp & Retreat began on June 17th and lasted for two weeks. Middle school students engaged in problem-based learning, collaborated with peers to solve complex problems, and presented their discoveries using digital media tools at the end of camp. Soft skills including team building, communication, organization, and leadership were part of the focus during each student’s time at camp.
Activities at STEM camp included using microscopes in the high school’s innovation lab to calculate the Daphnia heart rate, searching for macroinvertebrates in leaf packets to determine stream health indication, and traveling to the Greensboro Science Center to learn about sea creatures and many animal species.
In the second week of camp, students explored the physics of mechanical and electromagnetic waves by engaging in multiple labs such as: Standing Waves with Slinkys, Waves on a String, Light Refraction, and a series of 15 Acoustic activities that explored the physics of sound. Experimentation concluded with a measure of sound intensity (loudness) as a function of distance. After exploring waves and sound, the students were given a Design Challenge where the preliminary design was building a prototype tone generator with the purpose of increasing sound intensity. This activity lead to a Design Challenge of creating a speaker using a cardboard tube and various bell-shaped cups.
Observing the engagement and excitement of students at camp as they explored was refreshing and encouraging. We are thrilled to continue learning about each camp throughout the summer and sharing with you the great things offered to the students in Davie County.
