Huron Manufacturing Association Members Donate Surplus And Scrap Materials To Local High Schools

By Bob Montgomery

Two members of the Huron Manufacturing Association have recently donated significant amounts of material to local high schools.

Huron Manufacturing Chair, Larry Livingston, says over the past year his employers, Cap Products, have donated about a thousand pounds of raw material to the two high schools in Clinton, and Huronia Welding and Industrial Supplies has donated thousands of dollars in welding materials to 6 or 7 schools. Livingston says he started the Bridges to Manufacturing program a few years ago but it's just started gaining traction recently.

Livingston says the school boards and the ministry do a very good job of providing the schools with big equipment. But the schools are left with a shortage of materials to use with the equipment. The students need the material in order to learn how to operate the equipment and there's not much point in having one without the other. The Bridges to Manufacturing program was started to get the materials to the students, and the program invites manufacturers to donate either scrap or surplus materials to the school of their choice.

Livingston says the goal of the program is to give young students some exposure to a variety of trades to help them determine what they like and might consider as a career, or in some cases, what they don't like. Giving students the opportunity at least allows them to eliminate some things they might have been considering. Livingston says they also take students on bus trips to a variety of manufacturers and that's at least some exposure, but it doesn't replace the hands-on experience the students can get by actually using the equipment.

Students can get more information about the program by going to the Huron Manufacturing Association website.