HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — A generous donation to the U.S.Space and Rocket Center will help sustain Space Camp and repair some of the financial damage from COVID-19.
USSRC says that the first phase of the campaign to "Save Space Camp" raised $1.5 million in one week, the minimum amount of money the Rocket Center needed to keep the museum open October through April and to ensure Space Camp can reopen in Spring 2021. Weeklong Space Camp programs are on hold from September through April 2021.
The campaign pushed past its initial goal, and USSRC says that future donations, like this one from Northrup Gruman and the Northrup Gruman Foundation, will be used to repay the money the Rocket Center has had to borrow to pay staff salaries and expenses during the COVID-19 crisis.
Northrop Grumman Foundation has provided Space Camp scholarships for over 10 years. “The U.S. Space and Rocket Center plays an important role in creating the next generation of innovators and we are proud to continue our support for Space Camp,” said Sandra Evers-Manly, president of the Northrop Grumman Foundation.
“Northrop Grumman and the Northrop Grumman Foundation are longtime supporters of our organization and we are appreciative of their commitment, particularly in this challenging time,” said Louie Ramirez, USSRC CEO and Executive Director. “This generous donation helps to lay the path forward for that work.”
Ramirez noted, that over the long-standing partnership, the Foundation has also supported the Space Camp program for the blind and visually impaired, the Saturn V restoration project and many other center efforts.