The Lewis H. Latimer House Museum has won $1,000 as the winner of the 2017 Queens SOUP.
The funding will enhance the museum’s Tinker lab, which provides a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) education program for local kids. The program will expand access for low-income families.
According to the Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce executive director John Choe, Queens SOUP is a potluck dinner and funding model that provides seed money and promotional opportunities to help local projects.
The Latimer House Museum won with votes from local residents who participated in a crowd-funding micro-grant community dinner in March. For $5, attendees ate, learned about local projects and cast their ballots for their favorite project.
The Latimer House Museum is a city landmark that was home to Lewis H. Latimer, an African American inventor, self-taught Renaissance man and son of fugitive slaves. It calls attention to the contributions of African Americans to science, tech, arts, poetry and broader American life.