Full STEAM Forward Today:
Socio-economic inequities in education have left women of color dramatically underrepresented in STEM fields.
Despite the growth of STEM-based jobs at 3X the pace of non-STEM jobs, only 2% of underserved high school students meet the ACT STEM Readiness benchmarks as compared to 20% Nationwide. Further, women of color hold less than 6% of the degrees issued in engineering, computer science and physical science.
Full STEAM Forward was launched to encourage a passion for STEAM and a desire to pursue a career in the sciences. By targeting 3rd graders, FSF seeks to capture their interest before girls often lose interest in quantitive fields, as studies have shown.
Our Beginnings:
In May, 2020, as COVID-19 first hit the United States, a small team of volunteers in the United States and China launched ProCure Hope, a 501(c)3. ProCure Hope's mission was to get PPE into the hands of front-line, essential workers, marginalized communities and individuals with no where else to turn through direct sourcing out of China. ProCure Hope was graciously supported by a large number of individuals and donor organizations including Plum Alley.
ProCure Hope's impact was huge. By May 2021, nearly $500,000 was received in charitable contributions and nearly 2 million surgical and KN95 masks were procured and distributed --supporting a wide range of organizations including hospitals, nursing homes, domestic abuse shelters, rehabilitation facilities, Native American reservations, undocumented workers, Black Trans Community, and more. Over 125 different organizations received PPE support from ProCure Hope.
While the impact of COVID-19, and its variants, continues to plague our nation and beyond, PPE has become readily available in the US, and ProCure Hope has shifted its attention to another area of dire need--access to education. Full STEAM Forward was originally launched as a program under the ProCure Hope umbrella, adopting an existing and proven off-line Creative Intelligence program created by Bookends, and has since become independent.
In light of this growth and momentum, ProCure Hope has now officially changed its name to Full STEAM Forward.
