Sphero Raises $45,000 to Fund Classroom Projects for Teachers Across the U.S.

BOULDER, Colo., December 3, 2019 - Sphero, the leading robotics and educational STEAM company, announced today it has raised $45,000 to fund classroom projects for the holidays through its partnership with DonorsChoose, a non-profit organization that allows teachers to request products and experiences they need most for their classrooms.

Just in time for GivingTuesday, this donation will fund projects on DonorsChoose from teachers who are looking to engage their students in meaningful STEAM learning using Sphero’s programmable robots and educational tools. Students will be able to have fun learning with Sphero robots—some, for the very first time—including the new RVR and Sphero Mini Activity Kit and the ever-popular Sphero BOLT and Specdrums. Funded projects will also include teachers' use of littleBits tools, which Sphero added to its portfolio earlier this year.

“Passionate teachers across the country deserve our support to turn their STEAM project ideas for students into a reality,” said Paul Berberian, Chief Executive Officer of Sphero. “We have seen first-hand how these high-quality, exciting projects have brought STEAM to life for students—and most importantly, made it fun. Together with our donors, we’re proud to partner with teachers to offer a full ecosystem of Sphero tools and content to inspire more students to create, invent and understand the world around them. Together, we’re future-proofing the next generation of creators.”

Last year, through DonorsChoose, Sphero, along with support from their donors and matched donations, funded 329 projects, supporting 56,229 students, 279 teachers and 250 schools. For 66 teachers, this was the first ever donation they received from DonorsChoose. Additionally, 61% of the funded schools had a majority of students from low-income households.
For nearly a decade, Sphero has helped teachers, schools and districts teach critical thinking and problem solving skills with robots and resources that help bring math, science, music and art lessons off the pages of traditional textbooks and into real-world applications.

“Thank you for putting some excitement in our classroom. You can't imagine how Sphero Bolt is bringing creativity and competition in my class to the next level. The students are working on coding skills which can lead to possible future job skills,” said Ms. Tillis, a 3-5th grade teacher in Houston, Texas.
To date, more than 1.5 million students have been positively impacted by Sphero and its work to educate kids surrounding technology and computer science. More than 40,000 teachers at 20,000 schools worldwide use Sphero educational tools and easy-to-use content to empower the next generation with resiliency, creativity, and problem-solving skills. With Sphero's recent addition of the littleBits line, teachers will have access to hundreds of thousands of community-generated inventions and activities, and over a thousand lessons tied to NGSS, CSTA and Common Core standards.

“Sphero has transformed my teaching,” said Lauren Marrone, an 11th grade teacher in Dallas, Georgia, who has been a Sphero Hero since 2018. “Students are creating, collaborating, coding, and learning physics all at the same time. Through Sphero’s partnership with DonorsChoose and the generous support of their donors, teachers across the country will have more access to the tools and content they need to meaningfully engage their students in STEAM learning that helps build and reinforce 21st century skills."

Sphero would like to thank its generous team of donors for their partnership this year: Anchor Point, Nordic, Mindy Sooter, Cain Travel, Brands2Life, Silicon Valley Bank, Techtonic and KO Firm. These donations will support teachers and expose students to critical 21st century STEAM learning.

To see projects requesting Sphero items on DonorsChoose, visit here. If you are a teacher who is interested in Sphero’s robots and educational tools, including the new Sphero RVR, Sphero BOLT, Sphero Mini and Mini Activity Kit, Sphero Specdrums and littleBits, join DonorsChoose to post a project today!

ABOUT SPHERO: Sphero has been inspiring the creators and inventors of tomorrow through creative learning and play since 2010. Based in Boulder, CO, Sphero has become the #1 STEAM-based learning solutions company for educators, available in 40,000+ institutions globally. In August 2019, Sphero welcomed littleBits into the fold to become the EdTech market leader and accelerate play-based learning for kids worldwide. With new offerings coming out all the time to help kids start, grow, and graduate with Sphero, we truly teach kids to think #BeyondCode. Learn more at sphero.com.

ABOUT DonorsChoose: DonorsChoose is the leading way to give to public schools. Since 2000, more than 4 million people and partners have contributed $900 million to support 1.5 million teacher requests for classroom resources and experiences. As the most trusted crowdfunding platform for teachers, donors, and district administrators alike, DonorsChoose vets each request, ships the funded resources directly to the classroom, and provides thank yous and reporting to donors and school leaders. Charity Navigator and GuideStar have awarded DonorsChoose, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, their highest ratings for transparency and accountability. For more information, visit donorschoose.org.