Boxes of books and wall-to-wall stuffed grocery bags. That's what greeted BMW Manufacturing Associates and visitors when they entered North America's only BMW manufacturing facility a few weeks ago. And no, they weren't new training manuals for the Associates to pick up while heading into work, but rather books and school supplies to support two community educational programs: the United Way's School Tools project and the Greenville Literacy Council.
The United Way's School Tools project was designed to provide the children of low-income families with the supplies needed to begin the school year. Associates purchased supplies for the students, placed them in provided grocery bags, and the United Way delivered those supplies to the school children prior to the start of school. More than 300 bags were stuffed by our philanthropic-minded Associates.
Associates also collected books for the Greenville Literacy Council's annual, "Really Good, Really Big, Really Cheap, Book Sale." The book sale attracted more than 14,000 people and raised more than $115,000 for the Literacy Council, which helps adults in a variety of academic areas.
Thanks to all of our participating Associates for making our community a better place.
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Field Trip: Discover Paris Mountain State Park
With financial support from BMW Manufacturing, and in a joint project with local leaders and the S.C. State Park Service, the historic bathhouse at Paris Mountain State Park was renovated and re-opened in March as the new centerpiece of the park. Now, Paris Mountain State Park is unveiling its standards-based educational programs for the new school year that will utilize that building and its surrounding 1,540 acres to teach second and fifth graders biology and ecology. Called Discover Carolina, second graders become "biologists" and conduct field investigations on land and in creeks, collect animals and measure air and water temperature. Emphasis is on classifying and comparing animals according to life cycle stages. Two programs are available for fifth graders: Aquatic Ecology and Forest Ecology. As "aquatic ecologists" students conduct field investigations in the park stream and lake, and view their findings under microscopes. "Forest ecologists" conduct field investigations within the forest ecosystem of the park. Students identify populations, food web roles, collect organisms and interpret what they find. The program can also be adapted for middle school life science standards. There is also an eighth grade social studies program. |
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Associate Elected to S.C. State University Board of Trustees
Sky Foster, BMW Manufacturing’s manager of recruiting, payroll and compensation, has been elected by the S.C. General Assembly to the Board of Trustees at S.C. State University in Orangeburg. Foster, a 1977 graduate of S.C. State where she earned her Bachelors of Science degree, also holds a Masters of Science degree from N.C. Central University. She is a member of the Society of Human Resources, the Palmetto Society, the Urban League of the Upstate and Compass of Carolina, a non-profit, family counseling agency. |
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