FedEx has awarded $50,000 to LUX Blox, an Illinois-based toy manufacturing company that is disrupting the special education learning tool space, for winning the seventh annual FedEx Small Business Grant Contest. The toy company works to develop programs and video that further science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) learning that are widely used by individuals with autism and sensory disorders.
LUX Blox founders started the company to produce blocks that could curve, bend, and move without the limitations of needing to be stacked our built. Due to the toy’s uniqueness, both students and teachers now use the blocks as a “hands on” STEAM learning tool that enables them to spend less time in front of a screen.
The contest was started by FedEx to connect people and possibilities around the world and give small businesses the confidence to grow their business from product packaging to delivering to the consumers. LUX Blox plans to use the money, along with an additional $7,500 grant, to develop more programs and videos that help those learning math and science, as well as therapeutic exercises for individuals with disorders.
“Of the more than 13,000 entries in the FedEx Small Business Grant Contest – our largest ever – LUX Blox really exemplifies all the characteristics we want in a grand prize winner,” said Scott Harkins, senior vice president, Customer Channel Marketing at FedEx. “FedEx is a global company that connects people and possibilities around the world, and we look forward to working with LUX Blox to help them grow their business – from product packaging to shipping to e-commerce.”
