Denison, Texas --  The Ruiz 4 Kids Mini Grants for Teachers have been awarded and local teacher Elena Kinghorn from B. McDaniel Intermediate School was awarded $823 for her project "LEGO Mindstorm Robotics."

"This project is used as an enrichment activity for our gifted and talented students. It challenges the students to reason, think and use higher order problem solving skills," said Kinghorn. "They have to build the robots first and then program them to do different tasks: move forward or back, turn, recognize different colors, avoid obstacles, follow a black line and other functions. If the robot does not perform the correct task, the students have to look back at the program, diagnose what went wrong, make necessary changes and then try again. Students are having a lot of fun with the project and look forward to coming to my class every day."

"Our educators do such a tremendous job every day working hard to make learning an exciting and challenging experience," said Ruiz 4 Kids Board Member, Jeanne Ulcak. "Students today have so many distractions it takes being creative in the classroom to keep them engaged. With the Ruiz 4 Kids Mini-Grants for Teachers, it allows us to help local teachers achieve their educational goals for their students. We are thrilled to provide support to Ms. Kinghorn’s LEGO Mindstorm Robotics project and look forward to witnessing what her students will accomplish."

About Ruiz 4 Kids

Ruiz 4 Kids is a non-profit organization founded in 1991 when employees of Ruiz Food Products, Inc. approached Founder Fred Ruiz asking him to help them explore ways to assist families with children in need.

Today, Ruiz 4 Kids works to fund two youth/education programs: scholarships for high school seniors & college students and the Mini Grants for Teachers program.

About Ruiz Food Products, Inc.

Ruiz Foods is a privately owned corporation with corporate offices in Dinuba, California. Kim Ruiz Beck, the elder daughter of Co-Founder and Chairman Emeritus, Fred Ruiz, is Chairman. Rachel Cullen is the President and CEO.

Ruiz Foods is dedicated to premium quality, authentically prepared frozen foods selling to all channels of distribution: retail, convenience store, clubs, vending, industrial and foodservice. The El Monterey® brand is the #1 frozen Mexican food brand in the U.S. Tornados®, the company’s snack brand, is the #1 roller grill item across the nation. Ruiz Foods employs over 3,600 Team Members in California, Texas and South Carolina. For more information, please visit www.ElMonterey.com or www.myTornados.com.