Help Open Doors for Young Makers in Our Community
This year, the iSchool is proud to rally our community around a mission that reflects both our values and our impact: supporting the Champaign-Urbana (CU) Community Fab Lab and expanding scholarship opportunities for local youth to attend the Fab Lab’s hands-on, creativity-driven summer camps. The Fab Lab has long served as a vibrant hub of innovation, curiosity, and community learning, where young people can explore coding, digital fabrication, design thinking, and the joy of making. But each year, many families in our community are unable to access these transformative programs due to financial barriers. With your help, we can ensure that cost is never the reason a child is turned away.
What are we raising money for?
Your gift directly supports scholarships that allow K–12 students from across Champaign-Urbana to participate in the Fab Lab’s summer camps. These programs introduce youth to 3D printing, robotics, electronics, laser cutting, digital design, and more, all in an environment where imagination is encouraged, collaboration is central, and learning feels like discovery. Every scholarship you fund provides a meaningful opportunity for a student who might not otherwise have access to STEM-enriched summer learning.
Why give now?
The need is immediate. Each spring, demand for summer camp scholarships far exceeds available resources, leaving many interested students without a spot. By giving during this campaign, you are helping us build the scholarship fund before registration opens, ensuring we can say “yes” to families in real time and avoid creating waitlists we cannot fill. Early support also allows Fab Lab staff to plan confidently, expand program capacity where possible, and invest in supplies and materials that directly enhance the camper experience. Your timely gift has a multiplier effect: it strengthens the program’s reach now, not later.
Why does this matter?
The Fab Lab is more than a makerspace, it is a place where confidence grows, ideas take shape, and students see themselves as creators, problem-solvers, and emerging technologists. For many youth, particularly those from underserved or underrepresented backgrounds, a week at the Fab Lab can spark new passions, expose them to future academic pathways, and build foundational STEM skills that carry into school and beyond. Supporting this campaign means investing in equity, education, and opportunity for young people who will become the next generation of innovators and leaders.
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