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