Revised 5/15/2023
New: Support has been increased to 9 hours per employee per calendar year.  And in special cases involving outreach activities over extended time frames, additional hours can be provided upon approval.

Thank you for your interest in the GASSSS program.  The General Atomics Sciences Education Foundation (GASEF) started the GASSSS program in 2010 to support all employees of the GA family of companies (GA&A) who want to improve Kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education in their communities.  The purpose of the GASSSS program is to improve K-12 STEM education via the active participation of a GA employee in an educational activity, and by providing hours support and funds for associated STEM material expenses.

A program goal is to create a personal dialog between industry (the GA employee) and education (the teacher or students).  In your GASSSS application, please ensure that you describe how you will be personally interacting with teachers and students.  We want the program to be a win-win-win:

Win: Improve K-12 STEM education and improve the STEM experiences of students
Win: Improve the life of a GA employee by providing a meaningful outreach opportunity
Win: Provide a means for the GA Sciences Education Foundation and GA staff to contribute to the community

The GASSSS program is for K-12 STEM programs; the program will also provide hours support for GA&A employees who support career mentoring for students at junior colleges, colleges, and universities.  The GASSSS program has 2 components.  First, the GA&A employee must actively participate in the proposed STEM activity to enhance the STEM education of students by using their skills, knowledge, and/or experience and interact directly with students or teachers.  Passive activities such as chaperoning field trips are not eligible for GASSSS support.  Second the employee can be reimbursed for up to $500 in STEM purchases per calendar year and can be provided with a charge number for their labor for up to 9 hours per calendar year.  The employee’s active participation in the GASSSS activity is required to be eligible for reimbursement of expenses and hours support.

Participation in the GASSSS program is entirely voluntary.

First fill out Part 1 of GASSSS application and submit prior to beginning the proposed activity.  This part must be approved prior to starting the GASSSS activity/purchasing STEM materials.  See PART 1 below.

After the activity is complete, fill out Part 2 of the GASSSS application.  Both Parts 1 and 2 should be filled out and submitted, along with receipts, after the activity is completed.

 Program Information
Support will be provided by GA and affiliates for up to 9 hours of a GA employee’s time in a calendar year, based on the date of the initial GASSSS (GA Scientists/Engineers Supporting Science/Engineering for Students) activity.  After 9 hours, employees will be volunteering their time, and should not charge additional time to the company.  In some special cases of outreach activities that extend over long times, additional hours support may be requested by including that request and rationale in the application form.

For approved GASSSS activities, the GASEF (General Atomics Sciences Education Foundation) will provide up to $500 in support; a school can receive up to ten $500 levels of funding per calendar year based on the date of the initial GASSSS activity (which would require the participation of 10 GA employees).   An employee can obtain up to $500 in support in any one calendar year period.  For reimbursements, a calendar year is the year in which the final GASSSS application and receipts were submitted.  The recipient of the financial support cannot be a for-profit business. 
Some examples of GASSSS activities (also see: GASSSS Particpants ):

1. A local teacher needs some supplementary science related materials.  You purchase them and provide them to the teacher and assist the teacher in using them.  GASEF will reimburse the cost of the materials.

2. A local teacher wants you to do a science demonstration or talk about some aspect of your work.  You need to purchase some materials to do an effective demonstration – GASEF will provide financial support for you to purchase the materials that you will leave with the teacher.

3. A local school or regional science entity needs funding to help pay for the cost of a new science related laboratory or a regional science activity.  You will provide some science assistance.  GASEF will provide funding to the school or entity for the science related laboratory or activity.

4. A GA employee wants to present a science talk or workshop at a school or science conference. GASEF will support the purchase of materials needed for the workshop.
Note that the GASSSS program requires the active participation of the GA employee, who is submitting the application, in a STEM related activity so that they interact directly with teachers and/or students.

Please fill out the short application below to participate in this program.
Details: The GASEF will only provide funding for STEM related materials or activities for which receipts with the name of the purchaser are provided; if the purchaser’s name is not provided, an explanatory note must be provided.  Funding will only be provided for requests that have been approved by the GASEF via an approved GASSSS application.  Items purchased should be left with the school or organization or should be available for other GA employees to use.  An initial activity must be completed before reimbursement can be requested.  The program will evaluate requests on a regular basis; generally, responses to requests for GASSSS support occur within 1 week.  The activity must be completed within one year of the submission of the application. If multiple GA staff are participating in the same GASSSS activity, a single GASSSS application can be used, but it must include the requested information for all participants.

Procedural Issues:

1. This program will be publicized using the GA internal web site, the General Atomics Sciences Education Foundation (GASEF) web site, and through presentations and flyers.

2. GA employees who wish to participate will fill out Part 1 of the on-line application and submit it.  If multiple GA staff are participating in the same GASSSS activity, a single GASSSS application can be used, but it must include the requested information for all participants.

3. The application will be approved by the GASEF President (Larry Woolf).

4. After approval, Larry Woolf will email the applicant that their proposal has been approved.  He will also provide a charge number, if one has been requested, that can be used for time involved in the proposed GASSSS activity. He will also provide a link to Part 2 of the application form.  Support will be provided by GA and affiliates for up to 9 hours of a GA employee’s time in a calendar year.  Labor above 9 hours per calendar year will be employee volunteer time, except when specifically approved by the GASEF President.
5. The applicant performs the proposed activity.

6. A. After the activity is complete, the applicant will complete Part 2 of the on-line application form and attach receipts for STEM purchases as shown on the form. The name on the receipts should be the same as the name on the check request.  If not, then an explanatory note must be provided to Larry Woolf at Lawrence.Woolf@ga-asi.com.
B.  If this is a recurring activity or it occurs over an extended period of time, you may submit Part 2 with the receipts after you have performed the initial activity.  In this way, you can get reimbursed for an expenditure without waiting for the entire activity to be completed.  Then submit the final version of the entire application after all aspects of the activity have been completed.

7. Applicants are requested to consider writing up their presentation or experience and emailing it to Larry Woolf for posting at: http://www.sci-ed-ga.org/GASSSS_presentations.html where many other applicants have posted their presentations.

8. After receipts have been obtained from the applicant, Larry Woolf will send the receipts to the GASEF financial representative, who will make out a check to the person or entity noted on Part 2 and send it directly to the address shown on Part 2. 

9. After the final application has been accepted and approved, and a reimbursement check has been requested, Larry Woolf will send an email confirmation to the applicant.

10. Applicants are requested to consider supporting the GASEF via contributions during the United Way campaign.  The first selection on the United Way form that GA employees receive is to designate your support for the GASEF.