Community Partner Digi-Bridge

DIGI-BRIDGE

by Tammy Stanard

Digi-Bridge is a program that teaches Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM) initiatives to Mecklenburg County students between Kindergarten and eighth grade. Since 2014, Digi-Bridge equips shareholders with the means to foster optimal use of technology in the learning environment, ensuring all 21st century learners have opportunities to succeed in the digital age.

The Junior League of Charlotte, Inc. (JLC) works with Digi-Bridge on their #STEAMSaturdays to teach a series of 90-minute explorative courses covering different STEAM topics. Some of the most popular themes JLC members have taught are:

Body - learning how kidneys filter blood, why some people have glasses Space - constellations, distance between objects in the solar system, how NASA completed the MARS landing Motion - ramps, parachutes, catapults Theater - introduced this year, the children had the chance to design costumes and a set

This is the second year the JLC has led #STEAMSaturdays at Idlewild Elementary in East Charlotte. The JLC provides grant money to fund the curriculum and members step into the facilitator role to teach the courses on Saturday mornings from October to May. The JLC operates two classes at Idlewild and host, on average, 25-30 students each Saturday. Children are accepted into the program for five-week sessions, and some of the children take part in successive sessions. Prior teaching experience is not necessary, as the JLC facilitators are provided everything they need to lead each session.

Nikki Grayson, Digi-Bridge Chair, enjoys volunteering with this placement because she likes the tangible impact she’s able to see in direct interaction with the students each weekend and usually walks out of STEAM Saturdays learning something herself. “Digi-Bridge is one of the few placements where you can ‘try before you buy,’” she says,

meaning JLC members can volunteer with the committee without actually having to be part of it. Rosemary Gause, Digi-Bridge Vice Chair and upcoming Chair for the 2020- 2021 League year, adds, “The kids like the ability to learn interactively and not be confined to their desks.”

The popularity of this placement, the impact on the students, and the unique programming are some of the reasons DigiBridge received the JLC’s Community Partner of the Year award at the May General Membership Meeting.

Volunteer opportunities coincide with the CMS school calendar. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic the DigiBridge sessions were put on hold in the hope that DigiBridge will begin again in October 2020.