Mobile phone giant AT&T has announced that it intends to donate $20 million to support different education initiatives through the AT&T Aspire Program. The grant will support schools in 26 states around the country with the intent of providing mobile learning opportunities, mentoring, and career skills.
The grant will support students in a number of ways. “As students head back to school, we want to make sure we’re doing our part to help them succeed,” says Nicole Anderson, AT&T’s Executive Director of Philanthropy. “We’re collaborating with organizations that help students of all ages access mobile learning, mentors and the skills they need to hit the ground running beginning this fall and well into their futures.”
Some of the grant will go to Curriki, Get Schooled, and Black Girls CODE, an organization whose mission is to increase the number of girls and women of color in the STEM fields, as well as many others.
This donation isn’t the first time AT&T has supported schools, and not even in recent news. Yesterday, the company donated three hundred backpacks filled with supplies for the coming school year to the Bay-Arenac Intermediate School District in Monitor Township, Michigan. The donation came from volunteer AT&T employees. This marks the 15th year of the Michigan Pioneers donation program. They plan to donate another 300 backpacks tomorrow to students in Saginaw County.
In August, AT&T gave a $30,000 grant to the Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center to help mentor at-risk students. The company created the Aspire Mentoring Program to achieve their goal of providing 1 million hours of student mentoring by the end of next year. Also in 2015, AT&T has donated over $5 million to various United Way organizations across the nation.
Already this year AT&T has made plenty of donations to schools and other betterment programs. Because of their efforts, more children and students have access to the mentorship, supplies, and support they need to succeed.