PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Coded
By Kids announced lead partners Bank of America, Comcast
NBCUniversal and the Lenfest Foundation have invested nearly
$1 million to launch the OnE
Philadelphia (Opportunity and Equity for Philadelphia) initiative. This provides the
foundation needed for Coded By Kids to begin to address diversity
and inclusion in tech and innovation with long term solutions that
are designed to deliver high-quality, sustainable career
opportunities for communities of color in Philadelphia.
Coded By Kids is a nonprofit organization that provides young
people with development, digital design, computer science, and tech
startup–focused education programs. OnE Philadelphia, their new initiative, addresses
the city's focus on short-term solutions to systemic racial
inequity. By implementing a citywide tech education effort, OnE
Philadelphia's mission is to transform the city into a pipeline for
high-level tech talent and tech startup leaders.
The initiative is driven by three main strategies: creating an
integrated tech education, skill development, and experiential
learning ecosystem that targets high-growth opportunity careers;
building the infrastructure needed to support an integrated
ecosystem; and changing the way underrepresented Philadelphians
look at tech and innovation in order to change the culture of the
city.
"At the heart of my work as founder and CEO of Coded By Kids is
my commitment to building one Philadelphia," said Sylvester Mobley, founder and CEO, Coded By
Kids. "When you look at our city there are two vastly different
realities that Philadelphians experience that are connected to the
color of their skin. This outpouring of support we've received from
Bank of America, Comcast, and The Lenfest Foundation demonstrates
the value this pipeline will add to the city and acknowledges the
collaborative effort it will take to make equity and inclusion a
priority in the tech and entrepreneurship fields. The launch
of OnE Philadelphia is just the beginning. It's going to take
additional funding commitments from stakeholders around the city to
make this successful. This isn't a one-time thing—this is an
investment in lasting equity in our city."
Bank of America is committed to addressing issues that are
fundamentally connected to economic mobility – like access to
workforce development opportunities – to build more sustainable
communities. As part of the bank's $1
billion, four-year commitment, $10
million was allocated to providing Economic Resiliency
Grants to local organizations working to advance racial equality
and economic opportunity for communities of color, including Coded
By Kids. With these funds in addition to receiving Bank of
America's Neighborhood Builders® grant, Coded By Kids is
better equipped to launch the long-term initiative and bring access
to tech and innovation opportunities to more Philadelphians.
"Our support of OnE Philadelphia is rooted in our commitment to
meaningful solutions to advance racial equality and economic
mobility in low- to moderate-income populations and communities of
color," said Jim Dever, Philadelphia market president for Bank of
America. "The work that Sylvester and his team have done so far to
put this plan into action is inspiring and it's a pleasure to be a
part of this transformative workforce readiness initiative."
Comcast has long been committed to addressing digital inequities
so that all Americans have the opportunity to succeed in an
increasingly digital world. Since 2011, its low-income, high speed
broadband adoption program, Internet Essentials, has connected more
than 8 million Americans to the Internet at home, including
more than 288,000 Philadelphians. Beyond connectivity, Comcast is
also focused on providing digital skills training to young people
and to upskilling adults with the aim of improving economic
mobility. Comcast's investment in OnE Philadelphia is part of the
company's multi-year $100 million
commitment to fight injustice and inequality and its mission to
create a more connected and equitable society.
"Now more than ever, we need to ensure all of Philadelphia's residents have the opportunity
to thrive in the digital economy," said Dalila Wilson-Scott, Executive Vice President
and Chief Diversity Officer at Comcast. "By providing tech skills
training and educational opportunities to marginalized communities,
OnE Philadelphia aligns perfectly with our company's commitment to
advance digital equity. We look forward to working with
Sylvester and the Coded by Kids team on this important initiative,
and together, creating a brighter future for our city."
The Lenfest Foundation is committed to finding solutions for
life-changing impact in Philadelphia for years to come through
strategic investment and fostering collaboration.
"The Lenfest Foundation is committed to identifying and
investing in initiatives, like OnE Philadelphia, that aim to find
solutions that have a life-changing impact for generations to
come," said Dr. Keith Leaphart,
board chair, the Lenfest Foundation. "We believe in the power of
opportunity, which is why partnerships like this are critical to
providing Philadelphians with limitless career possibilities,
ultimately strengthening our community as a whole."
To learn more about OnE Philadelphia and how to get involved
with Coded By Kids, visit www.codedbykids.com.
Coded By Kids
Coded by Kids is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit
tech education organization that utilizes project–based learning
and mentorship to prepare underrepresented students to be the tech
leaders of the future. Our programs are designed to provide young
people of all backgrounds with intermediate to advanced level
skills in areas where diversity, equity, and inclusion disparities
are the greatest: software development, data science, and user
experience design. We fight systemic inequity by empowering
underrepresented young people and ensuring they are equipped with
the skills and resources needed to become tech leaders and startup
founders.
Bank of America
At Bank of America, we're guided by a common purpose to help make
financial lives better, through the power of every connection.
We're delivering on this through responsible growth with a focus on
our environmental, social and governance (ESG) leadership. ESG is
embedded across our eight lines of business and reflects how we
help fuel the global economy, build trust and credibility, and
represent a company that people want to work for, invest in and do
business with. It's demonstrated in the inclusive and supportive
workplace we create for our employees, the responsible products and
services we offer our clients, and the impact we make around the
world in helping local economies thrive. An important part of this
work is forming strong partnerships with nonprofits and advocacy
groups, such as community, consumer and environmental
organizations, to bring together our collective networks and
expertise to achieve greater impact. Learn more
at about.bankofamerica.com, and connect with us on Twitter
(@BofA_News).
For more Bank of America news, including dividend announcements
and other important information, visit the Bank of America
newsroom and register for email alerts.
www.bankofamerica.com
Comcast Corporation
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq:CMCSA)
is a global media and technology company with three primary
businesses: Comcast Cable, NBCUniversal, and Sky. Comcast Cable is
one of the United States' largest
high-speed internet, video, and phone providers to residential
customers under the Xfinity brand, and also provides these services
to businesses. It also provides wireless and security and
automation services to residential customers under the Xfinity
brand. NBCUniversal is global and operates news, entertainment and
sports cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks,
television production operations, television station groups,
Universal Pictures, and Universal Parks and Resorts. Sky is one of
Europe's leading media and
entertainment companies, connecting customers to a broad range of
video content through its pay television services. It also provides
communications services, including residential high-speed internet,
phone, and wireless services. Sky operates the Sky News broadcast
network and sports and entertainment networks, produces original
content, and has exclusive content rights.
Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more
information.
The Lenfest Foundation
The Lenfest Foundation is a
Philadelphia-based foundation
which is committed to supporting promising strategies that will
have a life-changing impact on Philadelphia's youth for generations to
come. We work to strengthen community supports for young
people, especially during critical transitions in their education
and development. We invest and work with partners to help
youth discover passions and explore future possibilities during
middle school, high school and early adulthood. Through the efforts
of our grantee network, it is our aspiration that youth and young
adults will possess the skills necessary to thrive in the local and
global economy.
Visit www.lenfestfoundation.org for more
information.
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