The Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley is happy to announce Time Warner Cable, through its Connect a Million Minds Initiative, awarded our organization a grant in support of the First Lego League Robotics Program. First Lego League is a robotics program for children, ages 9 to 16, designed to get youth excited about science and technology. “We believe one of the most powerful ways to engage children in any kind of learning, especially STEM, is to make it fun, and that is why we are thrilled to support the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley in starting their own First Lego League team this year,” said Kim Latour, Director of Community Investment for Time Warner Cable. “At Time Warner Cable our Connect a Million Minds (CAMM) initiative is a five-year, $100 million cash and in-kind commitment to address America’s declining proficiency in STEM.”

This year the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley entered the First Lego League competition, Nature’s Fury Challenge. With the guidance of coaches, Lorenzo Manzano and Jose Saucedo, club members from both Santa Paula and Fillmore sites formed the robotics team, The Stompers. The team had been practicing for months for the First Lego League Nature’s Fury Challenge and were ready and prepared for the November 24th competition. With close to one-hundred teams competing, The Stompers put their science skills to use and utilized robotics, technology and creativity to discover ways to help during natural disasters. In an impressive showing for their first competition, the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley was honored with the Judges Special Recognition Award. “STEM education provides project based learning for our youth. This type of hands-on education is exciting, engaging and will help our youth acquire skills to be successful in life,” states Jan Marholin, CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley. Understanding the importance of hands-on science, technology, engineering and math learning opportunities the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley is excited to continue and grow the Robotics Program in the coming years.

About Time Warner Cable’s Connect a Million Minds
Time Warner Cable's (TWC) Connect a Million Minds (CAMM) is a five-year, $100 million philanthropic initiative to address America's declining proficiency in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), which puts our children at risk of not competing successfully in a global economy. Using its media assets, TWC creates awareness of the issue and inspires students to develop the STEM skills they need to become the problem solvers of tomorrow. Program highlights include: original PSAs that challenge public perceptions of STEM; a unique website, www.connectamillionminds.com, and "The Connectory", a one-of-a-kind online resource that makes it simple and easy for parents and students to find informal science and technology learning opportunities in their communities. Local TWC markets have activated CAMM across the country with community-specific programs and partnerships.