Reach Out! sprang from the K–12 Education Outreach Program of the NSF Science & Technology Center for Ultrafast Optical Science. Student site leaders and volunteers for the former STC’s outreach programs created a student organization with the same goals—promoting math and science literacy, as well as career exploration.
In January 1997, with the leadership of these students, the group was officially named and registered with the Michigan Student Assembly as Reach Out! Our organization was well-established with seed funding from the UM President’s New Century Fund for Diversity.
As the STC lifetime expired, three core staff members of the outreach program left campus in March 2002 and adopted our own name, to become Michigan Reach Out!, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Through summer 2003, 835 individuals have volunteered with Reach Out! as one-on-one academic mentors for 859 teens, and 573 helped with weekly hands-on science clubs in schools and community centers that served 1,621 children. Many of these volunteers have come back to us semester after semester and year after year.

Last updated 23 Sep 04