Timberwolves Basketball Team Backs New STEAM Lab Renovation for North Minneapolis Boys and Girls Club

Heart of America is excited to announce a new transformation project slated this month for the Jerry Gamble Boys and Girls Club (BGC) of North Minneapolis. This Thursday’s event, brought to life with support from the Minnesota Timberwolves, will launch a brand-new STEAM Lab to help fulfil BGC efforts to help young people reach their full potential. The updated STEAM Lab will take the place of the Club’s previous computer lab, incorporating cutting-edge tech and collaborative makerspace tables and tools.

Equipment for learning and exploration will include new desktop computers, a color printer, a 3D printer, VR headsets, STEM kits, and a PlayStation 5. The lab, designed by the Heart of America team, will combine the need for modern educational resources with the safe, inspiring environment cultivated by the BGC community.

“We’ve partnered with The Boys and Girls Club for many years now, as have the Timberwolves in fact. We’re all in awe of the work they do to help and support young people and strengthen vulnerable communities,” says Jill Hardy-Heath, CEO of Heart of America. “As an organization, we are committed to furthering education equity across America, and working with dedicated partners such as the BGC is crucial to achieving that goal.”

With the new STEAM lab in place, the Jerry Gamble Boys and Girls Club is poised to provide best-in-class educational resources to local kids looking to learn, grow, and thrive. “A lot of the kids here, we don’t know what goes on in their home life outside of the club,” says Dominique Cotton, of Boys and Girls Club Twin Cities.

“Coming here, it’s the place where they get to go away from all that… They get to focus on what they really should be focusing on as a kid, which is school.” Encouraging sports is also a huge focus for the BGC, whose members participate in numerous sports leagues and active opportunities.

“There are more than a few Timberwolves fans in the area, we bet!” states Jill, with a laugh. This project marks a continuation of fruitful partnership with the NBA’s philanthropic entity, NBA Cares, which supports community initiatives across the US.

To learn more about NBA Cares, visit cares.nba.com.

To download a copy of this press release, please click here.