Concord ​Teachers Receive Unsung Heroes Grant​

CONCORD, NH — Voya Financial, Inc., a leading provider of workplace retirement solutions, including savings plans for K-12 educators, announced this week that Elizabeth Logan, Dave Malay and Steve Shippos, a group of teachers at Rundlett Middle School in Concord, have received a $2,000 grant as part of the company’s 2017 Voya Unsung Heroes awards competition, according to a press statement. Through the Voya Unsung Heroes program, Voya Financial awards grants to K-12 educators nationwide to honor their innovative teaching methods, creative educational projects, and ability to positively influence their students. For more than 20 years, the program has awarded over $5 million in grants to more than 2,000 educators across the United States.

“At Voya, we are proud to recognize the many teachers who go above and beyond to inspire a love of learning in their classrooms,” said Heather Lavallee, president of Tax-Exempt Markets at Voya Financial. “Understanding that we all learn differently, these teachers have developed unique programs to engage the minds of each and every student. This aligns with our desire to help all Americans prepare for their unique financial futures. We are honored to empower this group of teachers to continue to impact the lives of young people who will one day be the future leaders of our communities.” (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Concord NH Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

The team’s innovative teaching idea, “STEAM work like DreamWorks,” focuses on incorporating Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math into their school’s health curriculum. By creating short films and commercials about current health topics, trends and concerns, students become experts on an issue, allowing them to advocate for particular health topics. Along with being aired on the school's cafeteria television and the local community television station, completed films will be uploaded to a YouTube channel, so that students have the opportunity to share the content they create with fellow students, their teachers and those outside of the school community.

Selected from a group of more than 1,200 applicants, the group is among only 100 winners across the country who will receive this award to help fund and bring their program to life. In addition, they will now compete with other finalists for one of the top three prizes — an additional $5,000, $10,000 or $25,000 from Voya Financial.

To learn more about this year’s winning projects, as well as those from previous years, visit the Voya Unsung Heroes website (unsungheroes.com). Applications for the 2018 Voya Unsung Heroes awards are currently being accepted through the website until April 30, 2018.

Pictured: Elizabeth Logan and David Malay

Submitted by Betsy Helgager Hughes.