The Alcoa Foundation recently wrapped up its 2013 grant cycle, having delivered more than a quarter of a million dollars to local schools and community organizations in behalf of Alcoa’s Massena operations.

Following in the footsteps of a successful grant to Jefferson Elementary School in Massena last year for the purchase and installation of smart boards in all classrooms, this year Madison Elementary received a $51,000 grant for smart boards.

The Akwesasne Boys & Girls Club was awarded $39,000 by the foundation to implement Project Learn, an educational program designed to help students improve their success in school and to encourage them to stay in school and graduate.

Friends of the Robert Moses State Park Nature Center was awarded $20,000 for the Earth Keepers program, designed to educate participants about nature and teach them to become environmental ambassadors.

St. Lawrence University was awarded a $45,000 grant, payable over three years, to support Nature Up North, a program that combines a “virtual” nature center with citizen science activities to advance environmental education.

The St. Lawrence Community Foundation received $20,000 to support the next phase of the FISHCAP economic development initiative centered on regional fishing opportunities.

In addition to those five new grants, payments were made on multi-year grants to Jefferson Elementary School, $26,500 for its smart board project, and to Clarkson University, $40,000 to support the “MythOlympic Games” program for academically talented students that is modeled after the popular Myth Busters TV show and provides competitive challenges for students to solve.

A $50,000 Alcoa Foundation grant to CITEC for a regional workforce development program that will better prepare students for manufacturing careers was previously announced.

Alcoa Foundation grants are generally awarded in the focus areas of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education and the environment.