CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Feb. 6, 2012) – Five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson announced that Robert Sanders Elementary School in San Jose, Calif. is the recipient of the inaugural Team Up for Technology grant, a partnership between the Jimmie Johnson Foundation, Lowe’s and Samsung Hope for Children.
Jimmie Johnson Foundation
“As the Jimmie Johnson Foundation expands its work to support K-12 education, it is amazing to see the needs that continue to emerge around technology in particular,” said Johnson. “We wanted to give people across the country the chance to help move their school forward.”
Johnson announced the awarding of the grant through a video message to students and faculty gathered around a laptop computer provided by the foundation. The $48,000 Team Up For Technology grant will allow the school to purchase the technology it needs to be able to share such videos on a projection screen for the entire student body.
The Team Up For Technology program encourages parents, teachers, administrators and children’s advocates nationwide to nominate their school to receive a technology makeover. In its first year, more than 1,500 nominations were received through the foundation’s website (www.jimmiejohnsonfoundation.
Robert Sanders Elementary School Principal Julie Howard nominated her own school, sharing that, “We have one small computer lab for almost 500 students, and my students are hungry for technology in their classrooms. Please help my students achieve great things while using today’s technology they long to be exposed to.”
Robert Sanders plans to use the grant award, which includes $30,000 in Samsung technology, to purchase items including projectors, laptops, digital cameras and document cameras.
”We are proud to be partnering with the Jimmie Johnson Foundation and Lowe’s to support K-12 education,” said David Steel, Executive Vice President of Samsung Electronics North America. “Not only do our efforts address current technology needs in the classroom, they also help get kids interested in science, technology, engineering, and math – subjects that help develop skills that will be so important for their future success.”
Schools selected as Team Up For Technology semi-finalists were given a prize kit that included a Samsung Digital Camcorder and Samsung Laptop to create a two minute video illustrating their school’s technology needs. Robert Sanders Elementary was selected as the winner from a challenging group of finalists, including Brawley Middle School (Mooresville, NC), Breckenridge Elementary School (Breckenridge, MO), Claxton High School (Claxton, GA), Fair Grove Middle School (Fair Grove, MO), North Buncombe High School (Weaverville, NC), and Woodland Heights Elementary School (Mooresville, NC). Each school’s videos are now featured on jimmiejohnsonfoundation.org.
ABOUT THE JIMMIE JOHNSON FOUNDATION
Chandra and Jimmie Johnson launched the Jimmie Johnson Foundation in February 2006. Johnson, a five-time Sprint Cup champion, drives the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet in NASCAR’s premiere series. The mission of the foundation is to assist children, families, and communities in need throughout the United States. The foundation has committed more than $5 million to various charities. For additional information on the Jimmie Johnson Foundation, please visit www.jimmiejohnsonfoundation.
ABOUT SAMSUNG HOPE FOR CHILDREN
Samsung is dedicated to creating products that inspire passion and enable people to live Smarter Lives. Samsung Hope for Children represents the company’s philanthropic commitment in the U.S. to help improve children’s health, education and sustainability. Over the past 10 years, Samsung Electronics America and its retail and business partners have helped more than 400 schools, community-based foundations, and charities throughout the U.S. raise awareness of and funding for their causes. For more information please visit: www.samsung.com/hope.
ABOUT SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS NORTH AMERICA
Samsung Electronics North America (NAHQ), based in Ridgefield Park, NJ, is an arm of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. The company markets a broad range of award-winning consumer electronics, information systems, and home appliance products, as well as oversees all of Samsung’s North American brand management including Samsung Electronics America, Inc., Samsung Telecommunications America, LP, Samsung Electronics Canada, Inc., and Samsung Electronics Mexico, Inc. As a result of its commitment to innovation and unique design, Samsung is one of the most decorated brands in the electronics industry. The company was ranked #17 in BusinessWeek/Interbrand “100 Best Global Brands,” and named as one of Fast Company’s “50 Most Innovative Companies of 2011.” For more information, please visitwww.samsung.com. You can also Fan Samsung on www.facebook.com/SamsungUSA or follow Samsung via Twitter @SamsungTweets.
ABOUT LOWE’S
With fiscal year 2010 sales of $48.8 billion, Lowe’s Companies, Inc. is a FORTUNE® 50 company that serves approximately 15 million customers a week at more than 1,725 home improvement stores in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Founded in 1946 and based in Mooresville, N.C., Lowe’s is the second-largest home improvement retailer in the world. For more information, visit Lowes.com.
Source: GMR Marketing for Jimmie Johnson Foundation/Team Lowe’s Racing, Press Release
