Ball receives award for STEM program

BROOMFIELD — Ball Corp. (NYSE: BLL) has been recognized with the inaugural Founding Sponsor Award for the company’s long-term support of the Colorado For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.

Ball received the award at the 2019 FIRST Robotics Competition Colorado Regional in late March at the University of Denver Ritchie Center.

“Ball values the importance of the ColoradoFIRST program in helping young minds develop an interest in science, technology, engineering and math,” Chris Chavez, director, global corporate citizenship and corporate relations at Ball, said in a statement. “Ball is proud to support this mission with grants, mentors, judges and in-kind donations, and this year alone 20 Ball employees are mentoring 12 high school teams in the regional robotics competition.”

Over the years, the Ball Foundation has provided grants totaling nearly $200,000 to ColoradoFIRST. Through the company’s matching gift and volunteer reward programs, Ball employees have provided an additional $13,000 in donations with more than 220 mentors volunteering nearly 10,000 hours.

This year, which is the 15th anniversary of the FIRST Robotics Competition Colorado Regional, more than 50 highschools and organizations brought students, teachers, mentors, sponsors and family members to participate in the competition. Teams compete at this high-tech sporting event for honors in design excellence, sportsmanship, teamwork ― and for qualification to compete in the global championship.

Founded by inventor Dean Kamen, who introduced the Slingshot water purification system and the “Luke” robotic prosthetic arm, FIRST was created to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people, their schools and communities.

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