Our Crowdfunding Groups
Berkeley Engineers and Mentors (BEAM) fuses science education with mentorship by leading weekly hands-on science and engineering lessons at local elementary and middle schools. UC Berkeley undergraduate students provide accessible science education to our local communities in hopes of inspiring students of all socioeconomic backgrounds to pursue careers in STEM. We give a path for underrepresented students in public schools a chance to be introduced to STEM subjects through interactive and fun projects. Through our organization, we teach at 22 public elementary and middle schools in the local Berkeley and Oakland area - teaching close to 400 students a week!
BEAM’s budget covers a number of different expenses. The majority of our budget will be used for Transportation and site supplies. Each semester we have 10+ lessons at over 20 different schools. Each lesson requires us to plan and purchase materials such that every student has the chance to experiment and build. Another large portion of the budget is allocated to transportation. BEAM covers all transportation costs to get our mentors to their respective elementary and middle schools sites. With most of our sites at a not walkable distance, it is important to make sure our mentors make it to the students we aim to teach. Expenses for risk management are used for fingerprinting and background checks for our Berkeley mentors who go to site. Finally, advertising/recruitment expenses support our initiatives to get more UC Berkeley students to join our team.
We ask for your support through donations or through sharing our project page as we continue to pursue our mission of equitable STEM education for elementary and middle school students throughout the Berkeley and Oakland area. 100% of ALL proceeds go to BEAM’s mission through funds for expenses including transportation and club materials. To stay up-to-date on BEAM happenings or to hear more stories about our mentors, follow our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/beam.teach/) or visit our website (https://beam.berkeley.edu/).
Covid Note to Donors:
As an organization, we strive to inspire and teach our mentees in all areas of STEM. A majority of students have fallen behind in their class and the opportunity to catch up may be expensive and inaccessible. It’s our mission to close the gap despite setbacks from the pandemic we are adapting and growing as a community.
Transitioning back to in-person education is vital to getting mentees excited about learning again. As we work to achieve this through more in-person activities, we are prioritizing keeping our mentees safe! We have adopted all of our lessons this semester to be COVID-conscious by supplying students with individual materials and supplying mentors with PPE including gloves, Lysol wipes, and masks.
Our students' safety is a top priority within our organization, and our logistics and curriculum team work hard to make sure the lessons are both fun and created in a way that allows a safe distance between students.
Additionally, as part of our protocols, all mentors must sanitize their hands before the lesson and wear gloves as well as masks throughout the lesson. We thank any donor for supporting our mission and our endeavors to stay safe during the pandemic.
An email from our team to you, thanking you for your support in our mission!
We'll post your social medias on our Instagram and Facebook, as a thank you for supporting our mission!
We'll add your name onto our website (https://beam.berkeley.edu/donate) as a thank you for supporting our mission!
We'll email you a pdf of an e-book containing our favorite lessons created by our mentors and curriculum committee from over the years as a thank you for supporting our mission!
We'll create a personalized thank you video featuring members of our BEAM Staff for your support of our mission!
