Plastics Pioneers Supporting Education and Scholarships
Giving Back
The plastics industry is mature enough to have tens of thousands of “pioneers,” people with 20+ years of experience in various segments of the industry, who are either working or retired and represent a considerable knowledge base; a group that can take on many of the challenges that our industry faces.
Take the long-standing issues – education and awareness. Since I joined the plastics industry full-time in 1970, there have been numerous efforts to promote plastics in universities, community colleges, trade schools, and high schools, with some but insignificant results in the grander scheme of things. We want to take a quick moment of appreciation for the following organizations aiming to make a significant impact on the current education and awareness problem:
Currently, there are two organizations, The Plastics Pioneers Association (PPA), plasticspioneers.org, and The Western Plastics Pioneers (WPP), westernplasticspioneers.org, that make education and scholarships a priority. Awareness programs are targeted at all the levels of education noted above.
These organizations are working to not only augment the efforts of the Society of Plastics Engineers Foundation (SPEF), https://www.4spe.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3280, and other engineering organizations but are working to make the tremendous knowledge base of its members available to educational institutions to promote careers in all aspects of the plastics industry.
In 2023, twenty-six (26) plastics-centric scholarships of $3,000 each were awarded from the above two organizations. The donors are individuals and industry companies.
If the above sparks your interest and if you have any questions, suggestions, and/or want to get involved, please contact:
PPA Education / Scholarships:
– George Yule, (720) 512-3935, george@plasticsnetworkresources.com
PPA Membership:
– JoNell Kelly,
WPP Scholarships:
– George Yule, (720) 512-3935, george@plasticsnetworkresources.com
WPP Membership:
– Jeff Lawrence, (714) 282-0555, jeffslaw@earthlink.net
These organizations are looking to change the model(s) on how we find and educate the workers of tomorrow by focusing on the opportunities for young people in the industry and helping them grow a future in plastics. It is having an effect.
Thank you for your time!