At Lone Star College- Kingwood, Faculty and Staff aren't just nourishing students' minds. With help from a LSC Foundation mini grant, LSC-Kingwood faculty and staff rehabilitated their instructional garden where it serves as a relaxing retreat, a source for healthy food, and means to educate students.

The garden project was just one example of the impact of mini grants. Mini grants, awarded at every campus and system office, afford campuses the opportunity to try new approaches and equipment not covered in their departments' regular budget. Every year, LSC Foundation provides small grants to LSC employees looking to improve the student experience, streamline processes, or experiment with new technology.

For the garden project, led by Dr. Jamie Turner, Lilian Castillo-Hulett and Dr. Brian Shmaefsky, funding covered items such as gardening tools, bird feeders, and plants. "Mini grant funding is a vital tool for fostering innovation, supporting small-scale initiatives, and empowering employees to address their unique challenges and opportunities," said Castillo-Hulett.

Other projects strengthened the wrap-around support services offered to student with a refrigerator at the LSC-CyFair Empowerment Center and the Career Closet that provides job interview-appropriate clothing to students at LSC-University Park. System Office used their funding to help connect Financial Aid staff to prospective students at the FAFSA & TAFSA Extravaganza while others received professional development.

Congratulations to all of the 2023-24 mini grant projects!

Cy-Fair

• Glass-door refrigeration for the Empowerment Center: purchase a refrigerator for food pantry items
• Office on the go: provide iPad keyboard cases & headphones for adjunct faculty in faculty workspace
• The Teaching Professor Conference: cover attendance costs for professional development conference
• Philosophy & Humanities Conference/Journal: publish an academic journal showcasing faculties' and students' work

Houston North

• Pop it like its Hot!; purchase popcorn machines for student and community events
• Roots for Results: provide plants in office spaces to reduce stress

Kingwood

• Something in Hand: print leaflets on topics such as mental health & social media usage for students
• Air Quality Education Kiosk: create displays to educate the public on air quality
• Community Learning Garden: make upgrades to garden space used for teaching students
• Empowering Student Voices: host an essay contest highlighting the immigrant student experience
• Univ Exploration Transfer: cover field trip costs at transfer University institutions for students
• Coyote Lounge: create a student lounge area at LSC-Atascocita Center
• Fitness Equipment: purchase dumbbell racks for workout room organization
• Student Engagement Activities for Process Tech Students: provide activities for students to reduce stress during Finals

Montgomery

• Paleontology Fossil Preparation Laboratory: create lab with fossil prep equipment
• Calculators for All: provide students scientific calculators on loan
• Professional Certification in the Fundamentals of Neurodiversity: provide teaching training for LSC faculty
• Demystifying Technology: small project teaching opportunities about computer science
• Costume Shop Organization System; organization system for costumes and props
• Automotive Electronics Training Aid: purchase teaching aid for automotive instruction

North Harris

• Funding for Paralegal: cover professional exam testing fees for students
• Smart Touch Boards: purchase teaching aid for students

Online

• Immersive Learning: purchase immersive learning headsets for student instruction
• Greeting cards for LSC Online Students: send greeting cards to connect online student community

System Office

• Welcome Essentials Projects: purchase label pins for new employees
• FAFSA & TAFSA Extravaganza: host financial aid informational fair for community

Tomball

• Collaboration Learning Space: renovate space in library for new learning space
• She Loves Me: purchase licensing rights for musical performance
• Student Services Meditation Room: create relaxing space for students
• LSC-Tomball Pack Ambassadors: develop an outreach ambassador program for student recruitment
• College Student Inventory (CSI) Early Intervention: provide assessment of using early intervention practices on student retention rates
• Student Success Institute’s (SSI) Student Leader/Ambassador Program Development Project: provide professional clothing, workshops & training materials for Student Ambassadors

University Park

• Career Closet: purchase clothing to stock career closet
• True Crime Camp: provide opportunity for students to engage & learn about forensic science & law enforcement
• Bilingual Lending Library: build collection of ESOL books
• Project Cub: provide informational materials to elementary & middle school students to promote brand awareness