#GivingTuesday 2025

Since 1999, we’ve reached more than 25,000 Chicago Public School students through programs that center exploration, mentorship, and belonging. Our work continues to affirm that STEM is not just about science—it’s about social justice.

🚀 Where We’re Going

As we look 25 Years Forward, we’re asking a new question:What does the future look like when we invest in relationships?

We believe that sustainable impact happens when people engage—any route, sustainably.

That’s why we’re inviting our community to think in terms of fMRI—four ways to support the movement:Funds, Mission-Aligned Experiences, Referrals, and In-Kind Resources.

Just like an fMRI scan maps what activates the brain, your support helps us understand and strengthen the pathways that bring learning, opportunity, and equity to life.

🗺️ The Journey Ahead

Your generosity helps us:

• Invest in people — from our STEAMbassadors (ages 18–24) to our facilitators and educators. Your support provides professional development, mentorship, and reflective, trauma-informed training that strengthens our community of STEM leaders and ensures that young people see themselves in those who teach, guide, and inspire them.
• Supplies and technology that make STEM learning more accessible for every student.
• Expand field trips and transportation access, ensuring cost is never a barrier to exploration.
• Restore our All Girls Expedition (AGE) and All Boys Expedition (ABE) programs—immersive field experiences that take students to national parks, forests, and field sites to study geology, biology, and archaeology.

💬 Alina’s All Girls Expedition Reflections

"When I was hired by Project Exploration, I was thrilled to be teaching STEM—and even more thrilled that my first experience would be as a facilitator for the All Girls Expedition. Nervous yet excited, I joined 33 middle school girls for a weekend camping trip at Glenhagen Farms in Princeton, Illinois. The forecast called for rain and thunderstorms, but what we found was connection, courage, and laughter.

In between science lessons, nature journaling, and building fires for popcorn and s’mores, we created something rare: time to be in the moment.

We explored how our eyes adjust to darkness, how heat changes molecules, and how curiosity can light up a rainy night.

Was it cold? Yes. Did it rain? Yes. Was it muddy? Absolutely. But the girls saw only the bright side, and that joy transformed all of us.

This trip taught me that perspective is power. Even in the storm, we can create the moments we want. It was an unforgettable experience—and a powerful reminder of why this work matters.”

– Alina, STEM Facilitator, Project Exploration

Why Now

The pandemic widened the academic and opportunity gap for many of the students we serve. Yet, STEM pathways remain one of the strongest predictors of economic mobility. Every investment in Project Exploration creates a multiplier effect—empowering young people to gain confidence, pursue new opportunities, and reinvest in their communities.

Our impact is measurable:

• PE youth are 3x more likely to enroll in a four-year college than their peers.
• Over one-third of PE alumni major in STEM fields in college.
• PE’s Executive Director received the Chicago Mayoral Medal of Honor for exemplary youth service during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the work isn’t done. The next 25 years are about scaling that impact and deepening the relationships that make it possible.

Join the Journey

From November 18th through December 2nd, every gift helps us move 25 Years Forward.Your donation ensures that every student can see themselves as an explorer, problem solver, and community builder.

We’re not just building programs.We’re building futures—one relationship at a time.

Join us. Support Project Exploration this GivingTuesday.

Goal: $15,000
Early Giving Opens: November 18th
GivingTuesday: December 2, 2025
#25YearsForward | #ProjectExploration | #GivingTuesday