MOBILE, Alabama — Airbus’s Mobile operations and the United Way of Southwest Alabama unveiled a new joint education partnership this week, kicking it off with $12,000 in grants split among four local school programs.
Four local programs share the first round of funding
The initial grants included $4,000 for an accelerated reading program at Gilliard Elementary School, $3,500 for an engineering-focused enrichment program at Pillans Middle School run through the Mobile Area Education Foundation, $2,500 for B.C. Rain High School’s robotics team, and $2,000 to help expand a free children’s book program in the 36605 zip code.
The site director for Airbus’s Mobile engineering office, who also chairs the local United Way board this year, said the goal is to get residents thinking about how community needs and business interests overlap in their own neighborhoods before looking elsewhere.
Part of a national push
Mobile’s program joins similar Airbus-United Way partnerships already running in Atlanta, Miami, the Washington, D.C., area and Wichita, Kansas, all aimed at supporting community programs that boost student achievement. Locally, the arrangement means that every dollar Airbus employees pledge through the United Way workplace campaign will be partly matched by the company, with half going toward the new education partnership and a quarter going to the broader annual campaign.
Airbus Americas’ president said in a statement that being a strong corporate citizen in the communities where the company operates is a priority, pointing to similar programs the company backs in Wichita and Washington in addition to the new Mobile effort.
A boost for a broader graduation push
United Way of Southwest Alabama’s president and chief executive said the new funding builds on years of volunteer work Airbus employees already contribute locally, including serving as reading buddies in area schools. He said the partnership will help the organization chase specific local education goals, including school readiness, reading and math scores, and graduation rates in Mobile County schools.
United Way of Southwest Alabama is one of just a dozen United Way affiliates nationwide selected to take part in a national graduation-focused initiative, giving added weight to the new corporate partnership. Organizers say they expect to announce additional rounds of funding as the partnership continues.