Woonasquatucket Build wins manufacturing-camp grant

ROCKFORD, Ill. – The Fabricators & Manufacturers Association (FMA) Foundation and Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs Foundation have named Woonasquatucket Valley Community Build in Providence to receive a 2008 manufacturing-camp grant.
The camps target youths in secondary school, exposing them to math, science and engineering principles as well as the technology used in industry and the skills it requires.
“The purpose of the manufacturing camp grants is to provide a positive, hands-on experience so young people will consider manufacturing as a career option,” Terrence Egan, director of the FMA Foundation, said in a statement last night. “We’re making an investment in the work force of tomorrow. This is critical to the economy of the cities where the camps occur and to the nation in general.”
The Woonasquatucket Valley award, for $2,950, and 25 other such grants nationwide were announced at Metal Matters 2008, a three-day executive summit sponsored by the FMA and the Tube & Pipe Association (TPA) International.
“I can think of no enterprise more worthy than one devoted to inspiring the next generation of engineers, builders and manufacturers,” said NBTF co-founder John Ratzenberger, the former “Cheers” star and host of the Travel Channel’s “John Ratzenberger’s Made in America.”
“I am proud to be a partner with FMA and know that – with each child who attends one of our camps or pursues a career in manufacturing – we are rebuilding America’s foundation one tinkerer at a time,” Ratzenberger said.
“These camps provide youth with the exposure to vocational and technical trades that no longer exist in all public education systems,” Egan added. “Inspiring youth to consider these trades will have a positive effect on graduation rates, increase the chance for them to earn a living wage, and create a more qualified work force and [contribute to] community development in impoverished areas.”
The Nuts Bolts & Thingamajigs Foundation – whose motto is “Little hands build big dreams. Give children tools and watch them build America.” – seeks to introduce young people to the pleasures of tinkering, to help ensure a work force with the interests and manual skills that industries, workshops and engineering practices require. The Fabricators & Manufacturers Association Foundation awards grants to nonprofits and educational institutions to help introduce young people to metal-forming careers in manufacturing. To learn more, visit www.NutsandBoltsFoundation.org or www.FMA-Foundation.org.
The Woonasquatucket Valley Community Build was founded in 2001 by local artists to serve as a sponsor and catalyst for innovative approaches to urban revitalization, arts promotion, work force development and community growth. Its first major initiative was The Steel Yard, an industrial arts facility at the former Providence Steel & Iron that hosts classes and projects in welding, blacksmithing, ceramics and foundry arts. Additional information is available from www.ArtInRuins.com.