Are you an educator with a class project that is short on funding but long on potential? Do you know a teacher looking for grant dollars? Voya Unsung Heroes™ could help you turn great ideas into reality for students.

For more than 20 years and over $5 million in awarded grants, Voya Unsung Heroes has proven to be an A+ program with educators. The program’s “alumni” have inspired success in the classroom and impacted countless numbers of students.

Read more about the program and what types of projects win, or apply for the grant at www.unsungheroes.com!

2016 - 2017

Cincinnati Public Schools - Western Hills University High School Teachers Receives Grant

Congratulations to Western Hills University High School teachers Lori Cooper and Justin Harris, who were awarded a $2000 grant from Voya Financial® as the company’s 2017 Unsung Heroes Awards Competition.

Cooper’s and Harris’ innovative teaching idea, “Defenders of the Mill Creek,” focuses on using
challenge-based learning alongside an engineering design process to improve the quality of the
local watershed in Cincinnati, the Mill Creek. Students involved in the project will monitor the health
of the local watershed throughout the course of the school year, visiting various sites along the
creek and performing chemical tests. Through their findings, they will educate the local community
on the need to reduce the amount of water consumed on a daily basis. Students will examine how
local water usage affects the watershed by tracing the flow of water from their home to the
wastewater treatment plant. This project presents a unique opportunity for the students to help
solve a societal problem that is of particular significance to the local community.

Read more about their winning idea here!

2015 - 2016

Kings Local Schools - J.F. Burns Teacher Receives Grant

Congratulations to J.F. Burns First Grade Teacher Emily Roewer who was awarded a $2000 grant from Voya Financial® as part of the company’s 2016 Unsung Heroes Awards Competition.

Roewer’s innovative teaching idea, “Growing Up, Dreaming Big,” is focused on getting students
outside to learn about nature. With an addition to a vertical garden, Woolly Pocket garden planters
would be purchased to hang on metal fencing. The creation of this garden on a metal fence in the center of our school courtyard would also support a learning literacy theme of seeing potential in
unlikely places and viewing a world full of possibilities. First graders would have the opportunity to
garden in a low maintenance environment and take care of growing vegetables, thus encouraging
healthy nutrition by exposing students to unique vegetables. Ultimately, this project gives students
ownership in beautifying an unused and unattractive location on the J.F. Burns Elementary School
grounds.

Roewer is one of only 100 winners across the country who will receive this award to help fund and bring her creative idea to life!

2014 - 2015

Kings Local Schools - J.F. Burns Teacher Receives Grant

Congratulations to J.F. Burns Second Grade Teacher Megan Blazek who was awarded a $2000 grant from Voya Financial® as part of the company’s 2014 Unsung Heroes Awards Competition. Megan’s innovative teaching idea, Endangered But Not Forgotten, was selected from a group of more than 1,000 applicants.

Her project is designed to help students research areas of the world to locate animals that are endangered and develop ways to help save the animals from becoming extinct.

Blazek is one of only 100 winners across the country who will receive this award to help fund and bring her creative idea to life!

2013 - 2014

Congratulations to Mrs. Andrea Baker from Cincinnati Public Schools Mt. Airy School and Amanda Voorman from Springfield High School, they have each won $2,000 in grants through the Voya Unsung Heroes program! Please read more about the Mt. Airy School winning project here.