CH2M HILL Foundation awards $1 million for STEM education and sustainable communities

Denver — CH2M HILL Foundation, the philanthropic arm of global full-service consulting, design, construction, and operations firm CH2M HILL, announced $1 million in support for STEM education (science, technology, engineering and math) and Sustainable Communities around the world.

“A hallmark of CH2M HILL’s industry success is our highly-skilled employees who deliver quality work for our clients and in the process lay the foundation for human progress,” says Ellen Sandberg, executive director of the CH2M HILL Foundation. “To address the ongoing need to grow our talent pipeline and help develop a global STEM-capable workforce, the CH2M HILL Foundation supports non-profit organizations in Argentina, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States to inspire students to consider, pursue and persist in STEM careers.”

CH2M HILL’s 2014 strategic community grantees in STEM Education include:

• Camp Invention (Nationwide, USA)
• Colegio Madre Teresa (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
• Deep River Science Academy  (Ontario, Canada)
• Denver School of Science and Technology (Denver, Colorado, USA)
• DREAM—Achievement through Mentoring at Rice University (Houston, Texas, USA)
• Emirates Foundation’s Think Science Program  (United Arab Emirates)
• Engineering Development Trust’s INSPIRE Program (Nationwide, United Kingdom)
• Future City Competition (Nationwide, USA)
• Let’s Talk Science Challenge (Calgary and Ottawa, Canada)
• MicroSkills Community Development Centre (Ontario, Canada)
• Social Mobility Foundation’s Engineering Residential Program  (Nationwide, United Kingdom)
• Summer Engineering Experience for Kids (Denver, Colorado, USA)
• Teach First  (Nationwide, United Kingdom)
• University of Washington College of Engineering (Seattle, Washington, USA)

“Equally important is our Foundation’s commitment to promote lasting and life-sustaining infrastructure by supporting global not-for-profit organizations that work side-by-side local communities to build, maintain, and scale their critical water and transportation projects,” says Elisa Speranza, Foundation Board President.

To that end, the CH2M HILL Foundation also renewed its global partnerships with three strategic organizations working to provide clean water and sanitation, safe transportation, and reliable energy to high-need communities in the developing world. Each partnership includes the provision of skilled employee volunteers from CH2M HILL to carry out the projects. These initiatives include pedestrian bridge construction in Nicaragua and Rwanda with Bridges to Prosperity; safe water and sanitation in nine countries with Water For People; and a Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning program with Engineers Without Borders USA.

“A grant from the Foundation allowed 11 highly skilled employee volunteers from CH2M HILL to travel to La Conga, Panama, to help this rural community construct a 45-meter suspension bridge across La Trinidad River,” said Avery Bang, CEO of Denver-based Bridges To Prosperity. “This transfer of skills from CH2M HILL engineers to the local residents now means that hundreds of people will have safe crossing to schools, hospitals and jobs, and can also maintain their bridge for generations to come. I am grateful for the Foundation’s continued funding for new bridge projects in 2015.”

As CEO Jacque Hinman noted in her profile in STEM Connector’s 100 Diverse Leaders in STEM publication, “CH2M HILL looks for partners with a proven track record of measurable impact with programs that are scalable and replicable in other markets. We desire long-term partnerships with organizations that share our values and are collaboratively fostering meaningful, deep relationships for the long-haul.”