American Chemical Society

Savannah River Local Section

Share Your Story – ACS Leadership Institute

Lindsay Sexton

Chair-Elect

Savannah River Local Section

American Chemical Society 2

• La Semana Nacional de la Química (National Chemistry Week)

• First time event held in 2011 and repeated in 2012

• Children from an underprivileged local Hispanic community participated in hands-on chemistry demonstrations

• Event held at Casa Esperanza, a house offering after-school programs to keep children in a safe environment

ACS – Savannah River Hispanic Outreach Event

American Chemical Society 3

• Activity Development & Planning:

– Local section member volunteers at a church in the Hispanic community

– Local section saw an opportunity to reach out to a community that may not otherwise be exposed to National Chemistry Week

– Activity was planned through the ACS – SR National Chemistry Week sub-committee

– Activities were flexible in order to provide relevance for the large age span (toddlers to teenagers)

– Several Spanish speaking members of the local section volunteered

ACS – Savannah River Hispanic Outreach Event

American Chemical Society 4

• Activity Funding:

– Funding provided through the ACS –SR local section

– ACS tools such as the Spanish version of hand-outs were given to the students and their parents

– Local church provided facilities to hold the event

• Impact:

– 2011 event had 3 students attend

– 2012 event had 20 students + parents attend

– Event was deemed an extreme success

– Students still ask the ACS section contact when she will bring "more science experiments".

ACS – Savannah River Hispanic Outreach Event