THE RIPPLE EFFECT

Two memorial foundations, with shared ties to Mizzou, came together to deliver on their commitments to turn tragedy into positive community impact. Josh Seidel Memorial Foundation (JSMF) and Joseph Pedrotti Memorial Foundation (JPMF) partnered to elevate the STEAM experience for students at St. Elizabeth Catholic School in the Waldo area of Kansas City, Missouri.

Donated an inflatable Fire Safety House to teach in-home fire safety to children in the community and schools.

JSMF provided funds to help GSA robotics teams travel to compete in the VEX Robotics World Championships.

JSMF donated to support two middle school Building Futures classes for 8 weeks. Through a design/build, STEAM project-based learning approach- these students gain the tools necessary to build their life at full scale. All lesson plans, materials, and teaching staff are provided through Building Futures, and in these cases- funded by JSMF.

Josh Seidel Memorial Foundation partnered to support two Kansas City Women in Technology programs. CoderDojoKC teaches kids 7 to 17 to code. Coding & Cocktails teaches foundational coding skills to adult women.

On Feb. 17, 2017 a ribbon cutting ceremony was held in honor of the Joshua M. Seidel Advanced Concrete Materials Laboratory at the Engineering School, Laffere Hall, in Columbia.

Early in 2017 we forged a new relationship with the Institute for School Partnership at Washington University to help jump start STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) interest and Maker Education at the elementary school level in the St. Louis area.

Josh was a 1997 graduate of CBC High School in St. Louis. Over the last few years Josh’s alma mater, has embraced the emerging focus on STEM learning and the Josh Seidel Memorial Foundation has been thrilled to be a partner along the way.

In 2019, the library was able to offer six Coding 101 sessions to community kids due to a $10,000 grant from the JSMF. The goal of the Coding 101 program is to find and encourage St. Louis community’s next generation of software developers. St. Louis schools, including public schools, are adding coding to their curriculum.

Early in the Pandemic we were able to make an immediate impact at Crossroads Charter Schools In Kansas City. Through a donation we were able to facilitate the purchase of 150 tablets which were distributed to families without access to digital resources. Read the full press release.

This year we continued our ongoing partnership with The Little Bit Foundation through the donation of STEM kits which were distributed to Kindergarteners at Gibson Elementary in the Riverview Gardens School District.