The STEM Alliance Hosts Fundraiser
for Co-Op Summer Enrichment

The STEM Alliance hosted “More to Love” on Monday, March 28th, their first in-person fundraiser for Co-Op Summer Enrichment in 2 years.  With over 70 attendees, they surpassed their event goals to raise money for Mamaroneck’s only subsidized summer program for low-income children.

 The money raised took them close to their overall fundraising goal leaving them with only $25,000 more to raise. This Mamaroneck School District program, administered by The STEM Alliance, also receives generous support from the Town and Village of Mamaroneck which truly makes it a cooperative as its name implies.

Sponsorship gifts at over $1,000 per donor went a long way towards helping them reach their event goal. Event Chair and STEM Alliance Chairperson Alison Maertens said, “Maintaining Co-Op’s quality programming, from critical swim instruction to high-end STEM materials to field trips, is dependent upon those in our community who sponsor our work.  We give extra thanks to Houlihan Lawrence for their second year sponsoring equal access to summer programming for area children.”  

Co-Op Summer Enrichment provides 5 weeks of academic and recreational experiences for over 300 students from all 4 Mamaroneck School District elementary schools. The program serves mostly families who cannot afford to attend other local summer programs. Co-Op offers quality learning experiences and summer fun to children from low-income families who typically experience “Summer Slide,” the loss of academic skills and knowledge during the summer months. The Covid-19 pandemic added further stress to these families followed by the devastating impact of September’s Hurricane Ida which left 284 families in Mamaroneck displaced. The majority of the families that experienced the devastation of the storm take part in Co-Op Summer Enrichment. 

“We’re looking at a very serious reality. Learning loss from summer slide layered with Covid learning loss, and then the Hurricane Ida displacement – that’s exponential learning loss,” says Margaret Käufer, President of The STEM Alliance and Co-Op Lead Administrator. “The antidote to learning loss is more learning time. You can’t squeeze more learning time into the school year, that’s not where that happens. With Co-Op, we are able to use the summer as a learning opportunity – that’s why summer matters.”

The STEM Alliance is hoping to close their final funding gap in May 2022 when Co-Op is the charity of the month at Sedona Taphouse in Mamaroneck. Partnering with the Larchmont-Mamaroneck Lions Club, Sedona’s Dine out for Charity will support Co-Op with $3 per meal on Mondays for each half-price steak sold. Sedona will donate $2 per meal and the LM Lions will match with an additional $1. The STEM Alliance is also seeking additional sponsors for this unique summer program.

To learn more about ways to help Co-Op Summer Enrichment, visit: https://coopsummer.org/donate.html.

The STEM Alliance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing K-12 STEM education and enrichment initiatives to benefit students, parents and educators in the schools and community. Their stated mission is to bridge systemic gaps to provide equal access to critical science, technology, engineering and math learning resources with the goal of empowering communities, inspiring innovation and creating opportunity for all. Summer 2022 will be the sixth year of Co-Op leadership by The STEM Alliance.