Here’s Looking at You, Kids: Giving Back to Maine’s Littlest Residents

In addition to a team of us participating in July’s Tri for a Cure triathlon—read all about that here—WEX has been up to lots of good this summer. That includes sponsoring fundraising events we’re passionate about, contributing brainpower and resources to educational programs and getting active for a good cause. This month’s philanthropy roundup is all about the work we’re doing for children:

CodeX Horizons

Last month, we hosted our second CodeX session of 2018—this time with young folks (ages 8 to 13) from both the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Maine and the YMCA’s Counselor in Training program. Through an afternoon of coding, pizza and ice cream, we introduced approximately 30 kids to basic coding skills with a curriculum designed to teach app building.

This session also marked a celebration for our very first group of participants to complete our newly introduced Horizons program. These 14 kids left our April CodeX session with a challenge—participate in 10 additional educational hours on their own time, design five new apps and demonstrate their applied knowledge. For their hard work, WEX was pleased to present them each a brand new Chromebook laptop so they can continue coding outside the classroom.

Horizons participants pose with Ryan Taylor, Hilary Rapkin and their new Chromebooks

Strike Out Cancer in Kids (SOCK)

This is WEX’s second summer sponsoring the Maine Children’s Cancer Program (MCCP) at Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital. Specifically, we support SOCK, a program conducted in partnership with the Portland Sea Dogs that raises funds for kids fighting cancer in Maine.

All summer long, two teams will go head-to-head: Team Slugger (the Sea Dogs’ mascot) and Team Kinzie (Kinzie is a past MCCP patient). The two teams are competing to raise the most money for MCCP by the end of the Portland Sea Dogs’ regular season, with the competition culminating in a home run derby-style event at Hadlock Field on Aug. 19.

WinterKids

Coming up this year, WEX is strengthening our existing partnership with WinterKids, an organization dedicated to helping Maine children be active in the winter through educational programs and outdoor activities.

As a premier sponsor, WEX will have opportunities to engage in all of WinterKids’ programs in 2018 and 2019. From our direct support of educational programs, which benefits kids and families across the state, to our participation in the annual WinterKids Downhill 24 ski race (held in March), we’ll be engaged every step of the way. (Earlier this year, 25 intrepid WEXers participated in the Downhill 24 at Sugarloaf Mountain; read about how many thousands of dollars we raised here.)

We’re particularly excited to help WinterKids continue its newest program, the Winter Games, which is a state-wide elementary school challenge across the state that engages families in a physical activity and nutrition challenge, culminating with dollars earned for each school.

Consider this Part 2 of our summer philanthropy highlights; for a look at what we were up to in the first part of the summer, read our initial philanthropy wrap-up.