High school students in the Upward Bound program sanded, sawed and painted at the Bonderson last week, creating games for Jack’s Helping Hand, a charity that assists children with disabilities.
The federally-funded Upward Bound provides support for low-income, first generation college-bound students. Through the program, students spend six weeks at a residential summer academy at Cal Poly.
“The students in our program work with us year-round and must maintain active participation to be eligible for Summer Academy,” said Melissa Giddens, the Upward Bound program coordinator. “Each student is taking both a math and science class that is meant to prepare them for their courses during the coming school year.”
Instructors, teaching assistants and residential staff at Upward Bound are all current or recent Cal Poly students. While here, Upward Bound participants work on a project to create a product or solution for a local organization. This year, the organizations included One Cool Earth, Cal Poly MOST Program, the Morro Bay National Estuary Program and Jack’s Helping Hand.
Several students built games for the Imagination Park Fall Classic, a fundraiser put on by Jack’s Helping Hand in September. The fundraiser supports a unique park in Nipomo allowing disabled children play alongside children without disabilities.
