Courtesy of CodeCrew
Students practice computer coding with CodeCrew.
Memphis nonprofit CodeCrew was donated $50,000 by Verizon to help the tech startup continue to impact the city of Memphis. The donation also marked a partnership between Verizon and CodeCrew. Through the donation, Verizon has pledged to co-sponsor and fund CodeCrew’s after-school and summer programs at Lester Community Center and to establish four new after-school programs at local schools.
“We are proud to invest $50,000 into CodeCrew programs to further their impactful work in our most underserved communities,” said Sheleah Harris, local and state government affairs officer for Verizon. “With a hyper-local focus, Verizon will continue to cultivate relationships with grassroots organizations to actively address the digital divide in Memphis.”
CodeCrew was founded in 2015 as a summer camp program at Lester Community Center and, since then, has taught more than 2,000 thousand students across Memphis. Students in the CodeCrew program learn a wide variety of topics ranging from web and mobile app development to robotics and drone programming.
“CodeCrew is excited to partner with Verizon as they empower us to continue eradicating the digital divide through tech and computer science education,” said Meka Egwuekwe, CodeCrew’s Executive Director.
CodeCrew’s after-school program is geared around teaching kids in grades 5-12 how to use the entry-level coding language scratch, build Android apps, practice JavaScript coding, and work on entry-level game development. During their Hour of Code of events in December and May, students get the opportunity to show off their skills to friends and family. CodeCrew’s Summer Program functions in a similar light with students competing in an annual hackathon after the camp.
More information about the code crew program can be found here.