Through community partnerships and our Foundation Matching Gift and Vertex Volunteers programs, the Vertex Foundation had a powerful year of impact in 2024.
“We are driven to make the world a better place through our work, and the Vertex Foundation gives us a way to strengthen our communities at the local level,” said Melodie Knowlton, Executive Director of the Vertex Foundation.
Read on to learn about just a few highlights!
Partnering to develop the next generation of scientists
We’re grateful for our collaborations with strong STEAM education partners, like the Boston Private Industry Council (PIC), San Diego Squared (SD2) and STEM Learning. These partnerships support and synergize with initiatives we facilitate at our on-site Learning Labs in Boston, San Diego and Oxford, UK, and together we all work to provide local students with year-round and summer career exploration, internship programs, mentorship, professional development and more.
The Vertex summer internship program is designed for high school students to develop lab skills through hands-on experiences while also learning about different aspects of the business — with the goal of inspiring and developing the next generation of scientific leaders. “Interning at Vertex has allowed me to see and experience a new side of STEM I have never seen before,” said one 2024 summer intern. For students in Boston, the Boston PIC is critical in helping to identify and support our high school summer interns. Their career specialists are present in Boston Public Schools, and they provide practical support like resume and interview preparation in addition to guiding them through the summer internship application process.
In San Diego, SD2 also recognizes the power of internships as a gateway to STEM careers. Their Squared Fellows program is a yearlong rotation-based, mentorship program that helps students build social capital through connections to mentors, career exploration and development activities, and company site visits. When students utilize these connections to find internships, educational opportunities, career guidance and leadership opportunities, they gain confidence and a sense of belonging as a STEM professional. SD2 programs not only support students but also strengthen the growing life sciences and technology innovation ecosystem in San Diego and Southern California.
STEM Learning is a leader in connecting students to the life sciences industry in the UK. Through their summer research placement program, they open the door to careers by giving students a chance to work in a research organization. Another key dimension of our partnership with STEM Learning is the opportunity to support not only students, but teachers as well. In 2023/24, Vertex Foundation support enabled STEM Learning to provide 300 days of life-changing residential professional development through their annual subscription model. The results are improved teacher confidence and knowledge, leading to a better experience for young people who are more inspired by their lessons.
Doubling employees’ impact
Our annual Global Week of Service is a highlight of the year for Vertexians and our community partners. More than 3,800 Vertexians — that’s 70% of us — came together to give back to our communities. The result? We invested nearly 11,000 volunteer hours and collectively served more than 41,000 individuals in the communities where we live and work — our biggest impact to date.
In 2024, we introduced more than 100 Community Champions, a global network of Vertexians who are passionate about giving back — during Week of Service and all year round. “Creating a network of Community Champions was a way to further embed our culture of care throughout the organization,” said Liz Foster, who leads our Global Week of Service activities. “Our Community Champions stepped up to lead volunteer activities, encourage participation in this year’s Global Week of Service, and help us bring our commitment to the community to life throughout the year.”
Looking ahead
As we look ahead to 2025, we carry forward the lessons, progress and impact of the past year. With a steadfast commitment to our mission, the Vertex Foundation is poised to expand its reach, amplify impact and make a meaningful difference in our communities.