PPG Donates $38K To Fund Oak Creek High School Projects

OAK CREEK, WI — The PPG Foundation has invested more than $113,000 in 10 Milwaukee-area organizations in support of educational and skill development programs, the company announced Wednesday. The grants were made on behalf of PPG’s industrial coatings facility in nearby Oak Creek.

Oak Creek High School is a big recipient of PPG Foundation funds, as $38,142 has been awarded toward a number of projects, including: tuition for nine girls for a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) camp at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Knight's Construction Home Building Project; 3D printers for middle and high school engineering programs; STEM scholarships for students seeking higher education; robotics competition in 2018; and a coolant flush machine to teach students proper coolant and recycle practices to better prepare them for future real-world jobs.

The grant recipients and funding purposes in other communities were:

• All Hands Boatworks: $12,300 for the Real Apprenticeships for Teens program and the RiverVentures Camp for Teens and related high school summer internship program for low-income youth.
• Betty Brinn Children’s Museum: $5,000 for the Be A Maker hands-on communal workshop, which helps children develop new skills, collaborate and share their accomplishments.
• Bradley Technology High: $5,000 to update and expand the school’s makerspace to support collaborative and cross-curriculum learning, exploring and sharing.
• Discovery World: $10,000 for improvements to the Weird and Wild Exhibit in the Reiman Aquarium.
• Milwaukee Area Technical College Foundation: $3,500 in scholarships for two minority students in the chemical technician associate degree program.
• Milwaukee Public Schools Foundation: $5,000 for the Hidden Figures initiative, which sent more than 10,000 Milwaukee Public Schools students and Boys and Girls Clubs members to see the film “Hidden Figures.”
• Racine Unified School District: $18,800 for a construction program to build tiny homes for homeless veterans; Walnuts and Bolts robotics team; three technical education scholarships; and a vinyl printer and cutter for the makerspace.
• Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership: $5,000 to support the Construction & Utility Skills Academy for Youth, which educates and demonstrates key functions of various trades with hands-on experience for students.
• Zoological Society of Milwaukee: $10,300 for Career Day, the Student Internship Program and the Animal Ambassador Program.

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