Drax Donates $260,000 to Canadian Organizations Focused on Supporting STEM Education

Three organizations to receive funding that will focus on STEM education in BC and Alberta

VANCOUVER, BC, June 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Renewable energy company Drax has announced that three Canadian non-profits will receive $260,000 through the fourth round of donations from the Drax Foundation. The latest round of funding will go to programs that promote STEM education, reaching over 3,000 children and adults and prioritizing underserved groups, which include The MindFuel Foundation, Scientists in School and The Exploration Place.

"These organizations invigorate the communities they work in and have lasting impacts on the people and areas they serve," said Sandy Sung, Community Manager for Drax Canada. "We are guided by the needs and expertise of our non-profit partners, and that's why we prioritize funding for some of their harder-to-fundraise for areas of work."

All three non-profits work to better their communities through targeted programing, education, and supporting Indigenous communities in and around the areas where Drax has operations.

MindFuel, which will receive $80,000, works to increase STEM skills in BC and Alberta schools with a focus on reaching indigenous youth in rural areas.

"I'd like to thank the Drax Foundation for its generous support for STEM education and innovation and advancing equity and access to related programming, which resonates with MindFuel's mission," said Cassy Weber, CEO at the MindFuel Foundation. "In our recent 10-year study regarding youth innovation programming, we learned that 67% of respondents have created or been part of a team that has created an innovation in their professional career, and, critically, 75% attribute participation in a MindFuel program as key to their success."

"This partnership with Drax will help us engage more rural and Indigenous youth and significantly strengthen our combined work in building a future that's inclusive," said Weber.

Scientists in School, which will receive $100,000, also aims to improve access to STEM education for underserved populations in BC and Alberta.

"I would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to the Drax Foundation and their support which is a catalyst for Scientists in School's evolution as a national charity shaping the STEM skills and futures of over 350,000 youth annually," said Cindy Adams, Executive Director at Scientists in School. "The Drax Foundation has significantly enhanced our ability to reach children and youth in rural or otherwise under-served communities in BC and Alberta and enabled us to leverage this growth so we can reach thousands more in the coming years."

"Together, we are building a strong foundation in science education for children across Canada, vital for Canada's strength in research and innovation, and we are grateful to the Drax Foundation for being a part of our mission to ignite children's curiosity about the world around them," said Adams.

The Exploration Space will receive $80,000 to fund their STEM program in Northern BC, reaching First Nations children and other rural communities.

"Thanks to the generous support of the Drax Foundation in 2023, we were able to offer free school programs to over 6,000 students across Northern BC. With continued funding in 2024, we can expand this initiative, further increasing accessibility to STEAM education for students from Kindergarten through Grade 12," said Robyn Curtis, VP Development and Partnerships at The Exploration Place.

"This support is essential in breaking down financial and travel barriers, ensuring that all students in our region have access to high-quality, hands-on learning experiences. Our goal is to inspire and equip the next generation with the skills needed to navigate and thrive in an ever-evolving world, and funding from the Drax Foundation is key to helping us achieve this goal," said Curtis.

Launched in March 2023, the Drax Foundation funds initiatives that support education and skills development in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), as well as those that improve green spaces, enhance biodiversity and support Indigenous communities within the communities Drax operations. To learn more about the Drax Foundation and community projects that Drax has previously funded, visit https://drax.com/ca/news/.

Previous organizations that have received funds from the Drax Foundation include Actua, the Nature Trust of BC and SCWIST. 

About Drax  
Drax Group's purpose is to enable a zero carbon, lower cost energy future and in 2019 announced a world-leading ambition to be carbon negative by 2030, using bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technology. Drax's around 3,000 employees operate across three principal areas of activity – electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production and supply to third parties. For more information, visit http://www.drax.com/ca

Pellet production and supply
The Group has 18 operational pellet plants and developments with nameplate production capacity of around five million tons a year. Drax is targeting eight million tons of production capacity by 2030, which will require the development of over three million tons of new biomass pellet production capacity. The pellets are produced using materials sourced from sustainably managed working forests and are supplied to third party customers in Europe and Asia for the generation of renewable power.  

Drax's pellet plants supply biomass used at its own power station in North Yorkshire, England to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK's homes and businesses, and also to customers in Europe and Asia.

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SOURCE Drax Group