Giving Back: Beacon Cares About Children and Education

Published July 3, 2024 | Categories: Beacon News

Each quarter, through our BeaconCares program, we focus on a specific area of service to help those in need and make a difference in our community. Our theme for the second quarter of 2024: "Advancing Education." 

Remember playing with friends during the summer or in-after school programs? The fun of building something new or gathering with other kids to hear a good story? 

We know how important these moments can be. And with our Q2 theme "Advancing Education" in mind, our team volunteered with two vital Greensboro organizations to help create those amazing opportunities for youth in our community.

Here's a look back at the fun we had—and the impact we made—giving back over the last few months. 

Arts, Crafts and Monsters!

For our first stop, our team spent an afternoon full of smiles and laughter at the Black Child Development Institute (BCDI).

BCDI's work is focused on encouraging young students' interest in art and education, regardless of where they are in life or in school. Meeting a child where they are both socially and academically is important to their development. It's also an approach that's personally important to Tonya Gibson, the Director of Community Engagement at BCDI. She was overjoyed to see so many volunteers from Beacon arrive to help the organization pursue its mission. 

Gathering in Saint Paul's Baptist Church on Larkin Street in Greensboro, our team of volunteers worked directly with a group of children. We spent a fun afternoon decorating paper crowns with stickers of cats, dogs and flowers, and building little monsters from clay, pipe cleaners and googly eyes. Later, we sat down with some yummy snacks and read the kids Maurice Sendak's classic Where the Wild Things Are. 

After taking playful pictures with our crowns and mini monsters, it was time for us to part. Getting to know the kids was a blast, but more importantly, it provided them with a day of positive encouragement from adult role models to pursue their interests in the arts.

"You just never know what a child may or may not have experienced or seen," Gibson says. "Just being able to meet new people and learn new perspectives is so impactful on their growth. When groups like Beacon comes in, it's about more than just doing activities with the kids—it's exposing them to new ideas, new people and new career opportunities."

Rock-Em', Sock-Em' Summer Fun

With so many of our team members being experts in IT and web development, it's only fitting that our second stop this quarter was focused on science and technology.

FirstNC is a non-profit organization that provides education and inspiration through quality after-school robotics programs. Not only are these programs fun and enriching, but they also steer many of the participants towards a lifelong passion for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) topics. In fact, many of the organization's alumni have gone on to pursue spectacular careers with companies like Google, John Deere, Space X or even start their own science-focused businesses.

Inspiring kids and having fun with robots? Sign us up! 

The Beacon team headed to FirstNC's headquarters to lend a hand in preparing for their annual summer program. The organization's president, Marie Hopper, explained that each year, FirstNC supplies participating students with a "Camp-in-a-Kit" to support their passion for robotics over the summer. Coming off their North Carolina Robot Competition Circuit last month, they had their work cut out for them to put these kits together, and with upwards of 60 students participating in the program, there was no time to lose!

So, our team did what we do best—we got to work. That afternoon we put together dozens of kits, piece-by-piece. Our team's efforts saved FirstNC countless hours of work and ensured that these local kids will have an amazing summer building their own robots! We can't wait to see what they come up with this summer and beyond!

We Saved You a Seat!

Our team is always happy to lend a hand wherever help is needed most. From crafting and reading at BCDI to building the robotics kits at FirstNC, we're proud of what we accomplished as a team. Bringing joy and learning to so many local kids truly means the world to us.

Interested in joining Beacon and giving back to our community (not to mention being part of an incredible team of creative and dedicated professionals)? Explore our open positions – there's always a seat at our table.