On Aug. 30, India Wilson, STEM Middle at Baldwin Road (SMBR) principal, RCS BOE President Abram and 8th-grade STEM Scholar Kaiden Kendall joined community members for a grand opening ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Bob’s Discount Furniture hosted the event to celebrate the opening of their new location on Taylor Road. However, the ceremony was more than that, it also included the presentation of two donations. A representative from this Ohio chain said,

Bob’s is committed to giving back to the communities where we do business. With every store we open, Bob’s gives two $2,500 Random Acts of Kindness donations at our Grand Opening celebration. We usually support one non-profit in the area and one school.

Giving back has been a core value of Bob’s Discount Furniture since its inception more than 30 years ago. It has committed to contribute more than $135,000 in Random Acts of Kindness this year alone.

During the ceremony, Star House was awarded the donation for a local non-profit. Serving as central Ohio’s only youth drop-in homeless shelter, it helped 1,493 youth last year alone.

Why SMBR for the school donation? During their research of local schools, the business admired the school’s unique approach to education. Students regularly engage in transdisciplinary Problem and Project-Based Learning, a method wherein STEM Scholars, solve real-world problems across grade-level content while mastering the State Standards.

Principal Wilson says, “STEM Scholars are challenged to develop mastery of grade-level standards while developing real solutions to culturally relevant problems.” She also mentions that the funds will be used to support Design Cycle Challenges at the state level, as well as support student access to exploratory opportunities in STEM, for students.

We are lucky to have such amazing community and business partners in our District!