On Saturday, July 26th, the IEEE Houston Section contributed to an exciting volunteer opportunity benefitting K-12 students. Jarred Vanderbilt is a professional athlete in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He currently plays for the Los Angeles Lakers and grew up in Houston before going pro. Jarred believes in supporting future generations as they prepare for success in the classroom and beyond. That’s why he launched the Jarred Vanderbilt Foundation which hosts amazing back to school events annually.

Members of the IEEE Houston Section promote the engineering profession in the 4th largest city in America. Houston is affectionately known as “Space City” (for its legacy in the aerospace industry) and “Clutch City” (for the amazing run the Houston Rockets enjoyed en route to back to back NBA Championships). That’s why we decided to make an out of this world investment to inspire the next generation of engineers. We didn’t do it by ourselves. We are, after all, one IEEE.

The IEEE R5 Industry engagement team reached out to IEEE staff with a bold idea: help the Jarred Vanderbilt Foundation equip 600 students with school supplies and a connection to IEEE. Their response was instant. All of a sudden, IEEE Member Geographic Activities & IEEE Publishing Operations sprang into action, shipping an IEEE Spectrum magazine for every backpack we committed to fill. The momentum was building for an incredible experience…We were sponsoring the Jarred Vanderbilt Foundation’s 5th Annual Drive Thru Backpack Giveaway!

On the day of the event, we went all out promoting IEEE Spectrum magazine and, most of all, IEEE TryEngineering. Securing logo placement next to AT&T, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Houston Astros, the City of Houston, Klutch Sports Group and multiple public safety agencies meant a different level of visibility for this amazing educational resource. With Houston hosting the IEEE TryEngineering Summer Institute at Rice University, we believe that putting a “mag in every bag” will generate more demand for TryEngineering across Space City for years to come.