RWU Foundation

Our Impact

Participating students have logged over 2200 hours of time and counting “under the hood” learning through hands-on experience in our vehicle restoration projects

Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) come alive for our students as they learn the how and why of automotive systems such as engines, brakes and electronic controls

Our students spend their after school hours in a safe, positive learning environment, gaining technical knowledge and learning important life lessons in problem solving, persistence and patience.

Education, Workforce and Youth Development

There is a real need for after school programs featuring STEM-centered activities with a technology and engineering focus. According to a 2014 Afterschool Alliance survey of 30,720 households, only 30 percent of parents reported that their child attends an after school program that offers such programming.
Engineering, physics and math are integral parts of the automotive technology trade. When our students work on elements of the restoration such as rebuilding an engine they are seeing these subjects in action, in a hands-on learning environment.

Parents surveyed in the same Afterschool Alliance study reported that less than half of their children’s after school programs offer workforce skills development such as teamwork, leadership and critical thinking.
The group dynamics of our restoration project inherently encourages development of these skills, which will prove to be priceless assets as these young people enter the workforce.

Active, hands-on learning benefits a broad spectrum of students and provides growth for students often left behind in a traditional classroom setting. Learning subjects in a hands-on way can also lead to an increase in examination performance for these students, according to a 2013 study by the US National Academy of Science.
Getting students under the hood is active learning in its purest form. Our students learn by doing, and we can use these hands on activities to illustrate more abstract STEM concepts helping a broad spectrum of students excel.

Importance of After School Programming

A relatively small number of after school programs serve high school aged students, so availability of these programs is important. Benefits include increased academic achievement, prevention of drug use, and increased likelihood of obtaining work and gaining life skills experience.⁽¹⁾
Our program serves high school aged youth, providing a supportive environment where they are developing technical and interpersonal skills.

Teens who do not participate in afterschool programs are nearly three times more likely to skip classes than teens who do participate. They are also three times more likely to use marijuana or other drugs, and are more likely to drink, smoke and engage in sexual activity.⁽²⁾
Students in our program are spending their after school hours in a safe, constructive and beneficial setting where they are encouraged to pursue their automotive interests.

Workforce and Industry

In 2016 the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 7.8 million Americans are unemployed, while 5.4 million jobs are unfilled. A lack of proper education and training has left young people entering the workforce unprepared, especially in the automotive industry.
The technical skills students develop while working on our restoration project vehicles help arm them with knowledge that will make them a valuable addition to the workforce.

The automotive industry is a limitless world of opportunity, and represents one of the largest collection of small businesses. According to SEMA the automotive aftermarket alone is a $41 Billion dollar industry.
Our program supports young people interested in being a part of this industry and helps expose them to the various opportunities in this field.

The collector car market is also a multi-billion dollar industry. Hagerty reported that in 2013 the value of collector cars sold at auction in the U.S. reached a total of $1.3 billion. This doesn’t include person to person transactions, which account for the lion’s share of all collector car sales.
By engaging our students in the restoration of a classic vehicle we’re providing exposure to this specialty while teaching skills applicable to every aspect of the automotive field.