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As we prepare to officially say "Good Bye" to the warm summer months, and welcome what looks to be a wonderful fall season, I find myself in reflection over some of the amazing things our foundation accomplished over the summer.
We began by ushering in our 10th Anniversary of the ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp (EMBHSSC) this past June. Thanks to our partnership with the ExxonMobil Foundation, we celebrated another successful year of our STEM based summer camp program. We were happy to welcome three new universities this summer - North Carolina Central University, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and the University of Southern Mississippi to our EMBHSSC family. It's always great to be able to offer our two-week residential summer camp experience to students in new regions of America. This year, 930 middle school students participated in a STEM-filled, hands-on collaborative learning experience. Every summer we are thrilled that we are able to offer such an experience to these young future leaders with the hopes of igniting an interest in pursuing STEM career fields.
Our STEM Centers of Academic Excellenceâ„¢ (STEM-CAE) program continues to expand into more schools and communities with our STEM Summer Academy. This summer, the program acted as a STEM enrichment course in eighteen schools conducting summer school sessions in the Houston Independent School District. The program was administered in two cycles, each completed within a four-week period. The 5th - 9th grade students who participated in the program enjoyed a hands-on educational experience in the area of environmental science, engineering and food science with a few lessons covering character development. The students were treated to an outdoor field excursion to
The Hill at Sims Greenway, an awe inspiring nature habitat, that allowed the students to experience the science lessons up close and personal in a nature outdoor classroom.
Through our partnership with Capital One Bank, Everfi, Game Truck, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas-Houston Branch, we were able to offer our RockIt! program to
not only to the local area schools districts but to Houston area YMCA and Boys & Girls Club locations as well as the Baker Ripley Neighborhood Center this summer. RockIt! i
s an engaging 14-lesson financial literacy program in which students learn through managing a rock band. It includes an online learning platform provided by Everfi, the use of iPads, computers and a music video competition. Students who participated and successfully passed all 9 modules of the online learning platform became "certified in financial literacy". This distinction was placed on their school transcript and they were recognized during the program's closing ceremony held at the Federal Reserve Bank.
As we work our way into a new school year, our Dare to Dream (DTD) program, enters its twenty-first year of service to elementary and middle school students Houston area schools. The program focuses on character building, crime prevention, community activism and college and career planning. In partnership with the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department, Communities in Schools, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Houston office and the Houston and Alief Independent School Districts. We are proud that the program continues to garner the attention and support that it has over the past twenty years, and this year we welcome a new partnership with the Houston area Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The DTD program will be in ten schools during the 2015-2016 school year.
In health, our Innovative Medical Missions (IMM), a new initiative of The Harris Foundation that promotes the innovative use of medical technologies in support of philanthropic healthcare missions worldwide, we were able to offer much needed healthcare to remote regions of the world. The LifeBot 5, a groundbreaking telemedicine device designed to provide technological support to healthcare teams in even the most challenging environments, was used to pilot our first mission. IMM partnered with LifeBot and Dr. Brian Scheele of Pacific Northwest Surgical Outreach (PNSO) for the June 2015 inaugural deployment of this device to Belen, Peru, where the LifeBot 5 supported a team of PNSO doctors performing surgical outreach in resource limited communities in the Amazon region. The LifeBot 5 served as a link to remote surgical support at the University of Miami (FL) and as an intraoperative anesthesia monitor while in Peru. The data collected by the LifeBot 5 will support future missions with other innovative medical technologies.
The Harris Foundation strives to reach new heights and explore new arenas in education, health and wealth. With each milestone, we continue to cultivate a legacy of leadership and empowerment. As always, I am thankful to our partners, sponsors and supporters for their efforts in assisting us in achieving these goals.
Bernard A. Harris, Jr.
President and Founder
Join Us
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| JUNE - SEPTEMBER 2015 HIGHLIGHTS IN... |
| EDUCATION: EMBHSSC Alumni chosen to participate is WiSci Camp in Rwanda, Africa Click here to learn more 2015 ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Math and Science Scholarship winners announced Read more about this year's winners here Dr. Bernard Harris pays a visit to a few campsites during the 2015 ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp. For more on his visits, click on the links below at North Carolina Central University at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology at the University of Southern Mississippi * * * * * HEALTH: THF launches the Innovation Medical Missions (IMM) in the Amazon with LifeBot 5 For more on the pilot program, click here
WEALTH:
RockIt! 2015 Summer Award Ceremony sponsored by Capital One Bank Click here for more on the ceremony |
| THF IN THE NEWS |
| Dr. Bernard Harris, Jr. speaks at STEM Board's HackIT Camp in Nassau, Bahamas For more on the camp, click here More 2015 ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp locations making headlines Lamar University New Jersey Institute of Technology Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute of Technology University of Southern Mississippi
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| UPCOMING EVENTS |
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October 16-18, 2015
ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp Fall Forum
Houston, Texas
October 23-31, 2015
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) "Red Ribbon Week"
Houston, Texas
November 2015
2016 ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camps Call for Proposals requested
Nationwide
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| About The Harris Foundation Founded in 1998 by Dr. Bernard A. Harris, Jr., The Harris Foundation, Inc. (THF) is a 501 (c) (3), non-profit organization based in Houston, Texas, whose mission is to invest in community-based initiatives to support education, health and wealth. THF supports programs that empower individuals, in particular minorities and others who are economically and/or socially disadvantaged, to recognize their potential and pursue their dreams. Through our interactive STEM education, health and wealth programs, we prepare students and communities for a world of infinite possibilities.
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