STATESVILLE — EnergyUnited is honoring teachers and celebrating innovation in education by awarding more than $40,000 in Bright Ideas education grants to local educators. More than 6,000 students in elementary, middle and high schools in Alexander, Catawba, Cabarrus, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Guilford, Iredell, Mecklenburg, Rockingham, Rowan and Stokes counties will participate in the 27 projects funded by EnergyUnited’s Bright Ideas grants this year.
“We’re thrilled to award these dedicated educators with Bright Ideas grants,” said H. Wayne Wilkins, chief executive officer of EnergyUnited. “Their creative projects will no doubt help students reach their full potential and spark higher interest in learning for years to come.”
Bright Ideas education grants, sponsored by EnergyUnited and North Carolina’s electric cooperatives, are available to North Carolina teachers for innovative, hands-on, classroom projects that may not otherwise be funded.
Winning projects include anti-bullying initiatives, Raider Pride Television, CPR instruction and iPads for therapy with K-5 students who are identified with speech and/or language delays/deficiencies, among others.
“EnergyUnited is committed to bettering the communities we serve, and we believe there is no better way than through the education of our youth,” Wilkins said.
Since the Bright Ideas grant program began in 1994, North Carolina’s Touchstone Energy cooperatives collectively have awarded more than $7.9 million to teachers across the state. The Bright Ideas program has reached more than 1.4 million North Carolina students and sponsored more than 7,700 projects in all subjects including math, reading, science and technology, history, music and the arts.
Bright Ideas grant applications are collected each year through mid-September, and winning proposals are selected in a competitive evaluation process by a panel of judges. The application process will reopen for interested teachers in April 2013.
To find out more information about the Bright Ideas grant program, visit www.energyunited.com or the Bright Ideas website at www.ncbrightideas.com
Cabarrus County — $1,000 to Alice Graham, Forest Park Elementary, Reading Sizzles During the Summer.
Rowan County — $1,215 to Renee Cunningham, Knox Middle School, Knox Words of Wisdom; $1,797 to Ashley Miller, China Grove Middle, PBL Makes Learning Transformational; $2,000 to Lynn Bradley, West Rowan Middle, Microscopically Challenged.