DID YOU KNOW? for April 22 – May 5, 2025

Did you know that one of the local community programs that PLATO's Education Fund supports is Lussier Community Education Center? PLATO's annual donation supports educational programming for elementary and middle school students to help prepare them for success. Drawing in generations of community members from all walks of life to take care of one another and create a more just, healthy, and vibrant community. 

Learn more about the Lussier Community Education Center here.

Learn more about PLATO’s Education Fund here.

DID YOU KNOW? for April 8 – 21, 2025

Dr. Patricia Bath (Nov. 4, 1942 – May 30, 2019) was a pioneer in the field of ophthalmology. Dr. Bath is recognized as the first Black woman physician to receive a medical patent as the inventor of the Laserphaco Probe, a device and technique to remove cataracts. It performed all steps of cataract removal: making the incision, destroying the lens and vacuuming out the fractured pieces. 

Learn more about Dr. Patricia Bath here.

DID YOU KNOW? for March 25 – April 7, 2025

Did you know that one of the local community programs that PLATO's Education Fund supports is CLIMB USA? PLATO's annual donation supports expanding the participation of Madison Area Students in The CLIMB Youth Leadership and Summer Stock Market Experience Programs.

CLIMB USA’s mission is to help teens and young adults improve their financial capability through education and capital market engagement. CLIMB USA is developing a community of youth and families that are  learning new ways of thinking about economics through a focus on youth development, building wealth through investment clubs, entrepreneurial training, and thought leadership.

Learn more about CLIMB USA here and PLATO's Education Fund here.

DID YOU KNOW? for March 11 – 24, 2025

DID YOU KNOW? for February 25 – March 10, 2025 

Did you know that one local program that PLATO's Education Fund supports is Literacy Network? PLATO's annual donation supports the program resources budget which includes textbooks and online resources for English language learning. Literacy Network provides free literacy, English, and high school completion services to Dane County adults. They serve over 1,500 people each year with personalized educational programs that help them build their skills and reach their goals. Students celebrate getting new jobs, earning GEDs, becoming citizens, and communicating more effectively around our community. In January, Literacy Network merged with Omega School to enhance and expand their high school completion programming. Learn more about Literacy Network’s work and volunteer opportunities at litnetwork.org.

DID YOU KNOW? for February 10 – 24, 2025 

J. Ernest Wilkins Jr. (1923-2011) was a pioneering African American mathematician, physicist, and educator who worked at the University of Chicago Met Lab during the Manhattan Project. Wilkins was a child prodigy who completed his mathematics undergrad degree at 17 years old and his master's degree just one year later. Later in his career he researched methods for producing fissionable nuclear materials – plutonium-239 in particular. He did not learn the purpose of his research until after the atomic bomb was dropped over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.

Learn more about J. Ernest Wilkins Jr. here.

DID YOU KNOW? for January 28 – February 10, 2025 

Julia Parsons (b. March 2, 1924) World War II Code Breaker and Navy WAVE 

"After working a few months in the summer of 1942 in an army ordnance lab checking gauges on shells made in Pittsburgh’s steel mills, Julie Parsons read a newspaper article about the Navy accepting women into service as commissioned officers for the first time. College graduates could earn commissions by going through an officer candidate program. She signed up right away and became a Navy WAVE­­ Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service. During training someone came in and asked, “Does anyone here speak German?” she raised her hand because she’d taken two years of it in high school. They shot her off to the Enigma section immediately, where she began learning how to de­code German U­boat message traffic on the job, day one." 

Learn more about her fascinating wartime story here, as told by Todd DePastino.

DID YOU KNOW? for January 14 – 27, 2025 

Frederick Douglass "Fritz" Pollard (January 27, 1894 – May 11, 1986) was one of the first two African American football players in the National Football League. After serving his country during World War I, Pollard went on to become the first African American head coach in the National Football League with the Akron Pros in 1921. Learn more about Frederick Douglass "Fritz" Pollard.

DID YOU KNOW? for December 31 – January 13, 2025 

PLATO Education Fund – The Gift of Education: During the past 12 years, PLATO member donations have provided more than $341,000 to support scholarships for returning adult students at UW-Madison, as well as supporting the Odyssey Project, the Badger Ready Program and four local community programs. This year PLATO member donations are providing $50,000 to support these educational efforts. Each year more than 100 individual PLATO members generously contribute to the PLATO Education Fund! 

PLATO members and nonmembers alike are invited to contribute at any time throughout the year – learn more here!

DID YOU KNOW? for December 10 – 30, 2024 

Juan Pablo Knipping Pacheco (March 25, 1935 – February 15, 2021) was a Dominican musician, arranger, composer, and record producer who became known as the Godfather of Salsa. He popularized the term "salsa" by founding the Fania All-Stars, a musical group formed in 1968 to feature the leading artists of the genre, which played a critical role in the evolution of Latin music and brought Pacheo international fame. Pacheco became a leading figure in the New York salsa scene in the 1960s and 1970s as the founder and musical director of Fania Records.

Learn more about Juan Pablo Knipping Pacheco here.