Lawrence Livermore National Security announces recipients of the 2023 Community Gift Program

Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC (LLNS), the contract manager for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), has announced the recipients for the 2023 LLNS Community Gift Program. These gifts, totaling $220,000, reflect LLNS' commitment to local communities.

LLNS received applications totaling more than $978,000 in requests. Forty-six applications were selected for awards totaling $220,000 through a committee review process. The program, which launched in 2008, serves children in the Tri-Valley area as well as Contra Costa, Santa Clara and San Joaquin counties, with a focus on literacy, science, technology, engineering and math education and cultural arts.

The following organizations received awards:

• Art, Recreation and Movement (ARM) of Care: To bridge the gap between transitional housing and independent living while assisting in the healing process with art, recreation and movement therapy for persons at risk of exploitation.
• Assistance League of Amador Valley, Books of My Own Program: To encourage literacy among elementary school children in the Tri-Valley area.
• Bay Area Rescue Mission, Love without Limits Program: To support victims of domestic violence, human trafficking and homelessness with wrap-around services to begin their journey to self-sufficiency.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Tracy: To support science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs in all 21 sites for children, 6-18 years old.
• Calculus Roundtable: To advance math and science literacy that empower students of color and provide a pathway to sustainable careers in STEM through culturally responsive STEM programs, such as Sound Engineering and Biomedical Engineering Programs.
• Children’s Museum of Stockton: To purchase large scale building supplies for a hands-on, STEM-related exhibit designed to offer young visitors, ages 1-12, a new opportunity for cooperative learning, creativity, innovation, collaboration and critical thinking.
• Common Vision: To inspire students to be good stewards of the Earth by growing fruit tree orchards and gardens in low-income schools, caring for the environment and learning about conservation.
• Community Learning Center Schools Incorporated, Alameda Community Learning Center: To develop a new science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) Makerspace and to teach first-person view drone building and piloting to middle school students.
• Community Resources for Science: To provide STEM materials to activate curiosity about the world and inspire future STEM-related career pathways in elementary school students.
• Curious Five: To provide students in grades K-12 with a positive and supportive STEM learning experience that will inspire them to pursue future STEM careers.
• Down Syndrome Connection of the Bay Area: To empower, inspire and support individuals with Down Syndrome, their families and the community that serves them, while fostering awareness and acceptance in all areas of life by providing educational programs, such as THRIVE (weekly developmental classes), the Down Syndrome Education Alliance and Music Therapy.
• Dublin Unified School District, Cottonwood Creek TK-8 School: To promote project-based learning through real world applications to excite students about mathematics.
• East Bay NSBE Jr. Chapter, LLC: To provide hands-on STEM and robotics programs to under-represented and underserved students in grades 3-12.
• Engineers Alliance for the Arts, Inc.: To inspire and educate students about the interaction of art, architecture, engineering and construction using a STEAM curriculum combining technical and artistic components.
• Faith Network of the East Bay, Inc.: To support the Path2Math intervention tutoring and family engagement program to develop foundational numeracy skills in students.
• Future Leaders of America, East Bay: To support a comprehensive youth empowerment program that teaches young Latino leaders to take pride in their cultural diversity, strengthen their leadership capacity and further their education to achieve their full potential for success.  
• Hack the Hood: To equip students with data science knowledge and skills.
• Jefferson School District, Jefferson School: To support a drone building program, which will provide students with the opportunity to engage in engineering and programming projects.
• Jose M. Hernandez Reaching for the Starts Foundation: To inspire youth to find passion in STEM education through the Science Blast Program.
• Lammersville School District, Altamont Elementary School: To expand student knowledge base through STEM programs, computer literacy, and Project Lead the Way.
• Las Positas College Foundation: To support the Las Positas President’s Scholars Program, a financial need-based resource, which provides textbooks and educational supplies to students.
• Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District (LVJUSD) Altamont Creek Elementary School: To push the boundaries of TK–5 grade education by offering additional learning opportunities with outdoor STEAM projects.
• LVJUSD, Arroyo Seco Elementary School: To help maintain modern, competitive materials in their Makerspace/STEAM Lab.
• LVJUSD, Joe Mitchell K-8 School: To provide first grade students with a Scholastic News subscription to complement district curricula.
• LVJUSD, Livermore High School, GravitechX Robotics Team: To support a student-led robotics program where students learn leadership, teamwork, and technical skills to prepare them for STEM careers.
• LVJUSD, Livermore High School, Metal Shop: To support the Metal Shop program, which trains students to become future machinists and engineers.
• LVJUSD, Marylin Avenue Elementary School: To support the launch and improvement of the first STEAM program in the LVJUSD.
• Livermore Music: To purchase new violas and violins to support a program, which loans musical instruments to high school students with a demonstrated financial need.
• Livermore Public Library: To encourage the development of a lifelong interest in reading and learning by updating the children’s STEM, non-fiction collection within their “Library of Things.”
• Mission Young Arts: To support youth ambassador and advocacy mentorship programs, which empower the youth to unleash their artistic voices and catalyze change.
• Northern Light School: To expand educational services and establish a dedicated space known as the Learning Center, a distraction-free environment with one-on-one support tailored to the unique learning needs of students with learning disabilities.
• Oakland Children’s Fairyland Inc.: To support the Fairyland Flora & Fauna education program, which provides access to hands-on life science programming for students in grades K-5 from under-resourced schools. The program provides a safe and creative outdoor space that engages students of all learning orientations.
• Oakland Genesis: To support an after-school program which provides student-athletes in grades 6-12 with academic support and enrichment focused on skill building and mastery in English and math.
• Pittsburg Unified School District, Stoneman Elementary School: To provide students of all grade levels with positive collaboration opportunities while improving overall academic performance through Lunch Bunch Clubs such as chess, literacy, Lego building, yoga, dance and gardening.
• San Ramon Valley Unified School District (SRVUSD), Monte Vista High School, Red Tie Robotics Team: To make computer numerical control improvements and hardware purchases to allow students to learn the process for manufacturing parts, generating toolpaths, designing and advanced machinery.
• SRVUSD, San Ramon Valley High School – Ragin’ C Biscuits Robotics Team: Expand science learning opportunities designed to build exploration skills and knowledge through awareness of the innovative science and technology, and organizations in our region.
• Shepherd’s Gate: To expand the children’s program with STEM education materials.
• Stockton Unified School District, Weber Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology Academy: To provide students with a solid background in software, hardware, coding and design by incorporating robotic hardware kits in their technology curriculum.
• Sunflower Hill: To provide adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) opportunities to thrive through their Hands-On Garden Group Program, an instructional, outdoor space that provides a medium for educational, therapeutic and life skills training.
• System Overload Robotics: To create a learning environment that nurtures high school students’ growth and encourages the development of new and creative concepts through engineering competition-level robotics.
• Three Valleys Community Foundation: To support the ongoing Youth Mental Health Outreach Initiative by sharing resources and raising awareness of mental health challenges.
• Tower Foundation of San Jose State University, Science Extravaganza: To generate interest in STEAM fields among younger students while reinforcing the value of higher education through activities, such as the Science Extravaganza.
• Wayfinder Family Services: To provide an early intervention program to assist children who are blind, visually impaired or multi-disabled overcome challenges, strengthen their development and reach their greatest potential.
• Youth Code Now: To offer after-school STEM and intervention programs with a primary focus on mathematics and computer science to underserved and disadvantaged students.
• Youth Eagles Aviation and Aerospace: To inspire the next generation of aviation, aerospace leaders and STEM innovators through hands-on, unique and educational experiences, such as SeaPerch, High Altitude Balloon Science and Rocketry programs.
• Z-Cares Foundation: To support Z Talks, a high impact program that generates mental health awareness and reduces the stigma of mental illness within our community.

The $220,000 in support of the Community Gift Program is in addition to the $1.3 million contribution made by LLNS each year to the LLNL Helping Others More Effectively (HOME) Campaign, LLNL’s annual employee charitable giving program. This year, employees generously donated more than $2.8 million through HOME and with the LLNS $1.3 million additional contribution, more than $4.1 million will be supporting charitable programs and those in need.

LLNS manages LLNL for the Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration. LLNS is comprised of Bechtel, the largest project management contractor in the United States; the University of California, the world’s largest public research institution; and BWXT Government Group, Inc. and Amentum, the top two DOE nuclear facilities contractors.

For more information regarding the LLNS Community Gift Program, see the LLNS website.