Five Grand Prize Winners Announced in Samsung’s $1 Million Solve for Tomorrow National Education Contest

Public schools from California, Florida, Minnesota, New Mexico, and New York to each receive more than $100,000 in technology at a celebration in Washington, D.C.

RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Samsung announced today the five grand prize winners in its nationwide Solve for Tomorrow contest, a competition to raise enthusiasm for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education among U.S. public school students. The five grand prize winners were chosen from the 15 finalists selected in February to receive $40,000* in technology from Samsung, Adobe Foundation, and DIRECTV. The five grand prize winners are:

“The excitement this contest creates is wonderful”

Franklin High School, Los Angeles, CA	http://tinyb.it/1D52C1EBC8AD
Leewood K-8 Center, Miami, FL	http://tinyb.it/5052C1ED3E14
Forestview Middle School, Baxter, MN	http://tinyb.it/5852C306FBA
Arrowhead Park Early College, Las Cruces, NM	http://tinyb.it/152C1F6680E
MS 88/Peter Rouget Middle School, Brooklyn, NY	http://tinyb.it/3D52C1F98CBA

Franklin High School won the Community Choice Award with nearly 80,000 public online votes, MS 88/ Peter Rouget Middle School won the Samsung Employees Choice Award, and the other three winners were chosen by a panel of judges. Each of the five winning schools receive more than $100,000* in technology products such as smart boards, LED TVs, and laptops.

“The excitement this contest creates is wonderful,” said David Steel, Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy of Samsung Electronics North America. “The public voting portion of the contest received a strong response from the online community. That kind of support is fantastic. Congratulations to all the winning schools as well as the other 10 finalists. We hope that the challenge of this contest, together with the technology for winning schools, will help spark students’ passion to pursue careers that help improve the world through STEM.”

All five winners will be honored in a special Washington, D.C. ceremony on April 17. As part of their prize package, the five winning schools also have the option to host a community e-waste recycling day through Samsung Recycling Direct, an e-waste program which has recycled more than 250 million pounds of electronic waste in the United States since the 2008.

The Solve for Tomorrow contest is part of Samsung Hope for Children, the company’s philanthropic initiative focused on helping children lead healthier, smarter, and more sustainable lives.

More than 1,600 schools from across the country entered the contest that kicked off in August with an essay submission on how STEM can help the environment in their community. Seventy-five classrooms - 25 from each of the following three categories: rural, suburban, urban**– were selected as semi-finalists and received a Samsung camcorder, laptop, and Adobe editing software to create videos to compete in the video phase of the contest that answered the challenge: How can STEM help improve the environment in your community?

Five finalists were chosen from each of the three categories. The prize package for the 15 finalists includes a special service plan with a dedicated school support contact, on-site product training and maintenance service, online training, and an extended warranty plan.

The 15 finalist videos can be seen at www.samsung.com/solvefortomorrow.

Sound bites from David Steel and B-roll for the Solve for Tomorrow program can be downloaded:

Franklin High School, Los Angeles, CA	http://tinyb.it/833FE225E4C
Leewood K-8 Center, Miami, FL	http://tinyb.it/2C33FE1598EFC
Forestview Middle School, Baxter, MN	http://tinyb.it/433FE15B070D
Arrowhead Park Early College, Las Cruces, NM	http://tinyb.it/C33FE15CACF8
MS 88/Peter Rouget Middle School, Brooklyn, NY	http://tinyb.it/5E33FE15F6859
* Estimated Retail Value
** As categorized by the Department of Education with Town included in Suburban.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in consumer electronics and the core components that go into them. Through relentless innovation and discovery, we are transforming the worlds of televisions, smartphones, personal computers, printers, cameras, home appliances, medical devices, semiconductors and LED solutions. We employ 235,000 people across 75 countries with annual sales exceeding US$143 billion. Our goal is opening new possibilities for people everywhere. To discover more, please visit www.samsung.com.

About Samsung Hope for Children

Samsung Hope for Children represents the company’s philanthropic commitment in the U.S. to help improve children’s health, education and sustainability. Since 2002, Samsung Electronics America and its retail and business partners have helped more than 400 schools, community-based foundations, and charities throughout the U.S. raise awareness of and funding for their causes. For more information please visit: www.samsung.com/hope.