Avnet is pleased to award 15 community grants that support various organizations across the country. Avnet focuses on four areas of giving and employee volunteerism: STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion), Communities in Crisis, and the Environment.
Of the 15 grants, 10 were awarded locally, including a pollinator program through Desert Botanical Garden. The Great Milkweed Grow Out Project has been working for more than seven years to increase the availability of native plants with significance to monarch butterflies and other pollinators. Avnet’s grant will support two interns to support the program. Avnet’s volunteer team will also be going to the garden to plant milkweed seeds as part of the project.
“From water shortages, habitat loss and other threats to the Sonoran Desert, there is an urgent need for future leaders to work in environmental science and horticulture. Desert Botanical Garden is grateful to partner with Avnet to train future scientists through the Great Milkweed Grow Out internship initiative. Participants will gain invaluable experience working alongside Garden staff and be inspired to continue on to careers related to conservation science,” stated Ken Schutz, The Dr. William Huizingh Executive Director.
Other local grants awarded include:
A New Leaf: Support for their La Mesita shelter and on-site services in Mesa.
Arizona Forward: Funding will expand their Emerging Sustainability Leaders project.
Arizona Sustainability Alliance: Support for their Clean Energy Workforce Development Program.
Assistance League of the East Valley: Funds will support their Operation School Bell program to clothe youth in need for back to school, along with their Homeless Teen Program.
Friends of Public Radio: Grant funds will support their SPOT 127 youth media program.
Mayo Clinic: Support of their CARES program, a high school mentorship program.
Natural Restorations: Funds will help expand an existing long-term project to replant saguaros and other native Sonoran Desert plants in the 2020 Bush Fire burn scar area.
Reap Goodness: Support of their Heartland Trial to harvest and manage rainwater on dry lands.
St. Joseph the Worker: Funding will support their workforce development program for disadvantaged individuals.
