Atlanta, Ga. – A group from St. Paul-based The Vomela Companies and their hosts at HP took time for a corporate social responsibility experience to give back to the local community. Together, the team prepared 30 solar car kits and 12 assembled solar cars for Boys and Girls Club of Metro Atlanta to help combat summer learning loss. The event took place at the HP Graphics Experience Center in Alpharetta, GA.

“We are so grateful to The Vomela Companies and HP for their support of our kids and our Clubs,” said Adrianne Penner, Senior Director of Programs at Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta. “Programs like this help us combat summer learning loss and get kids and teens on the path to reach their full potential.”

Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta will distribute car kits to 22 locations this summer as part of Summer Brain Gain – a summer learning loss prevention program. For students of low socio-economic status, the loss of learning over summer break can be staggering. As Review of Educational Research notes, most youth lose about two months of grade-level equivalency in mathematical computation skills over the summer months. Low-income youth also lose more than two months in reading achievement, while their middle-class peers make slight gains.

This learning loss can stack up from year to year, creating a chasm many low-income students struggle to cross. For kids already at a disadvantage due to lack of resources or opportunities, summer learning loss can prevent them from graduating from high school on time or at all.

To support this initiative, Vomela worked with Impact 4 Good (http://impact4good.com/), a company providing teambuilding programs that give back to the community. For this event, Vomela selected “Go GREEN Racing,” which focuses on the importance of youth learning about science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and alternative energy. During a highly energized and competitive program, teams used creativity and ingenuity to build solar cars in preparation for an exciting, double-elimination tournament. Along the way, teams prepared 30 solar car kits for the girls who will be participating in a summer camp program, which allows their young minds to be introduced to and learn hands-on about STEM education. A hand-written “STEM Message of Encouragement” was included with each solar car kit to motivate and inspire the children.