Amazon donates $75,000 to create four STEAM labs for students at Petersburg City Public Schools

At Amazon, we are committed to ensuring more children and young adults, especially those from underrepresented and underserved communities, have the resources and skills they need to build their best future. Technology and innovation fuel Amazon, and we recognize the jobs of tomorrow require a stronger aptitude for STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) skills.

That’s why Amazon Business is proud to support STEAM education programs that encourage the innovators of tomorrow while providing the tools and resources that teachers need to inspire students to learn, innovate, and imagine to their full potential.

Amazon delivers millions of customer orders every day, but yesterday was a very special day for Petersburg City Public Schools in Virginia: Amazon Business donated more than $75,000 in STEAM materials and classroom renovation supplies to make this a happy school year for Petersburg City students and educators. Amazon Business and Amazon Fulfillment hosted a ribbon cutting event, revealing one of four new STEAM labs outfitted over the students’ summer break. Dr. Maria Pitre-Martin, Superintendent, Petersburg City Public Schools emceed the event with speakers including Sen. Rosalyn Dance, Senate of Virginia, Del. Lashrecse Aird, Virginia House of Delegates, and Matt Busbridge, Amazon Business Education.

More than 50 Richmond-area Amazon Fulfillment employees spent two days volunteering to help transform four STEAM labs in the district: assembling furniture, cleaning, painting, and setting up the rooms. Amazon Business provided funds for cosmetic updates such as newly painted walls, carpeting, and furniture.

The newly revamped labs were made possible by Amazon Business’ donation of STEAM resources, renovation materials and classroom supplies, which included popular back-to-school products, such as Amazon Fire tablets, Ozobot coding robots, and science kits for all four classrooms, giving local students increased access to computer science and STEAM resources. As part of this donation, Crayola also donated nearly $10,000 in new art and classroom supplies for teachers at each of the four schools.

“Our goal is to make the back-to-school season more impactful for our teachers, superintendents, administrators, and principals so they can focus on driving and improving learning outcomes for students,” said Matt Busbridge.

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Not only does Amazon Business invest in education and learning for students, but we continue to invest in the communities where Amazon associates live and work. We focus on building long-term and innovative programs that have a lasting, positive impact in towns and cities around the world. Our goals include helping more young people from underrepresented backgrounds build successful careers in computer science, creating a positive learning environment by addressing immediate needs such as family hunger and homelessness, and serving communities in need following natural disasters. You can learn more about our investments around the country by visiting this interactive map.

Amazon Business also provides teachers with the resources they need to be able to inspire their students now and throughout the school year, which is why in July, we surprised the Fresno Unified School District with a donation to fund their new robotics program.

All teachers, educators and school administrators can take advantage of savings on hundreds of millions of items on Amazon Business by visiting amazon.com/educatorshappyschoolyear. We wish you a very Happy School Year!