Potrero Hill community center gets $25K from Amazon for STEAM program

The Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, nicknamed The Nabe, recently received a $25,000 grant from Amazon to help turn the community center into the go-to tech lab for underserved neighborhood kids, the community center's executive director Edward Hatter told Axios.

Driving the news: Amazon this month announced the grant to help fund the community center's new science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) education program that launched this year.

Why it matters: The Nabe, a nonprofit established in 1907, hopes to better support children in the area, which has some of the highest unemployment rates in the city.

• "At Amazon, we know investing in San Francisco youth is an investment in the success of this city," Sally Kay, Amazon's head of external affairs, said in a statement.

The Nabe also serves families and seniors through a variety of programs and services, with a focus largely on community members of color living in the southeast side of Potrero Hill.

• The area is home to the Potrero Terrace-Annex, Hunters View, Sunnydale and Alice Griffith public housing projects.

What they're saying: "The name of the game is to train our students and residents in the industries that are happening here," Hatter said. "Where folks can come in and work on their experiments or robots and have the Nabe be that location for all the youth of southeast San Francisco."

Details: The program, open to kids aged 5-13, has explored life sciences, math, art, 3D printing and more. Down the road, the program plans to teach coding.

• "Things that blow up, things that fly, things that move are the most favorite among the kids," Hatter said.

What to watch: The Nabe is gearing up to restart its weekend-based STEAM program on Saturday, Sept. 16, and will run twice a month throughout the year, taking a monthlong break in December before picking up again in January.

• The goal is to be able to serve 60 kids each day of the program, Hatter said.
• Meanwhile, Hatter hopes other tech companies will financially contribute to the program so the community center can offer more services and reach more kids.