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Breaking Barriers, 3M and Masco donate to Livonia schools for robotics and Garfield food pantry
Summary
At the Aug. 18 Livonia Public Schools Board meeting the district recognized a $5,000 3M grant to replenish middle‑school PLTW robotics equipment (matched by nonprofit Breaking Barriers for Kids and Families) and a $10,000 Masco grant to stock a new Garfield Community School food pantry that students will operate.
The Livonia Public Schools Board of Education on Aug. 18 recognized donations totaling $15,000 that the district said will support Project Lead The Way (PLTW) robotics at the middle school level and a student‑run food pantry at Garfield Community School.
The board presented certificates of appreciation to Breaking Barriers for Kids and Families, which secured a $5,000 grant from 3M and agreed to match that amount to help replenish robotics materials for the district’s PLTW middle‑school courses. Anne Owen, a Breaking Barriers representative and former Emerson Middle School principal, told the board, “we were awarded $5,000 towards the purchase of some needed supplies,” and that Breaking Barriers would match the grant to expand the purchase.
The board also recognized a separate $10,000 grant from Masco Corporation, provided through Breaking Barriers, to purchase food for a Garfield Community School pantry scheduled to open this fall. Anne Owen said the Masco gift will “go a long way in stacking and kicking off this great community resource.” Garfield Principal Lauren Feigl told the board Garfield’s student program serves “18 to 26 year olds from 11 different districts” and that students already run a related program, Garfield Garments, three days a week.
District officials and board members framed the donations as supplements to existing district investments in STEM and community supports. Superintendent Andrea Oakwist and board members noted the PLTW pathway now runs K‑12 and pointed to the district’s new robotics center at the career center. The board said the food pantry will be open to community members, not only Garfield students.
No board action or vote was required for the recognitions; the meeting paused briefly for photos after the presentations.
