Oh Wow Introduces a New Way to Donate

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — A new system will allow Oh Wow! The Roger and Gloria Jones Children’s Center for Science & Technology to solicit and collect donations via cryptocurrency.

Oh Wow is one of the first science museums in the country to launch such a program, according to a press release. HD Davis CPAs worked with the museum to choose the right programs and services needed to launch the program and allow for donations to be made in a safe and secure manner.

“We teach STEM at Oh Wow. STEM means Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics,” says Tim Petrey, managing partner at HD Davis. “There aren’t many more pure examples of STEM other than cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. While this technology is still in its early stages of development, it would be irresponsible of our organization to not acknowledge the need to learn more and develop programs to facilitate the education about this technology.”

“Our museum has been faced with challenges that were unimaginable prior to the pandemic. We’ve done a great job of adapting our business models in the face of this adversity, but we have a long way to go to continue to build our museum into an organization that transcends the walls of our building,” said Suzanne Barbati, director of planned giving. “We are working tirelessly to develop new programs that expand beyond just our in-person museum. Our STEM SAK program and outreach programs have been a great way for us to adapt to our new world. We will continue to explore and expand as there are opportunities for us to grow through this challenging new world. We are thankful for our community that has been extremely supportive through our continued evolution.”

“Oh Wow has gotten to where it is today by finding ways to teach kids about STEM in a fun manner,” added Executive Director Marvin Logan. “We think that we can develop programs that can make cryptocurrency and blockchain fun, too. It’s exciting how revolutionary this can be to so many different parts of our economy and world. We have a future-oriented focus at Oh Wow surrounding both STEM, workforce development and career exploration. We feel that programs like this can help start to bridge that gap.”

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.