This month, Hopeworks Web Associate Hien Nguyen began giving back to the community with her new skills by volunteering with Girl Develop It’s Up Program to teach web development to incarcerated women! Hien is a teaching assistant in the program while their Hopeworks supervisor and Web Director, Billimarie Lubiano Robinson, is teaching coding in the UP Program.
UP - Unlocking Potential of Underserved Women - began as a pilot program in December 2017 with funding from Capital One and Barclays. For the past year, GDI’s UP Program team has been going into Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution (BWCI) in New Castle, DE to teach beginner web development classes.
With limited access to relevant professional development, incarcerated women have the most to gain from learning 21st-century skills, especially web development, in order to provide them with more opportunities when they reenter society and the workforce. This innovative program was established to assist incarcerated women to: increase knowledge and awareness of technology, acquire coding and web development skills, enhance self-efficacy; and build confidence, hope, and an openness to try new things.
GDI believes that “teaching incarcerated women is fully aligned with our mission to provide accessible and judgment-free opportunities for diverse women from all backgrounds interested in learning web and software development...Among women prisoners, research shows that the rates of recidivism are high. Our goal is to support the students who return to society by welcoming them into our nearby communities to help them continue their learning and to get involved in a network they wouldn’t otherwise be aware of.”
Hopeworks is so proud the Web team and their desire to help others take control of their futures.
Learn more about this program on this GDI blog post from their first cohort in 2017.
Reflecting on the immense success of our 2024 HOPE Summit fills us with gratitude and inspiration! From the educational workshops, to the insightful panel discussions, free headshots for all who attended, and ending the event with a Pathways fair connecting young adults with educational and career resources. The fair included vendors such as Rutgers, Teach […]
Congratulations is in order for Web Team Member Ziany Gunther who was recently hired by TD Bank for a full time position in the bank branch! Ziany is a Camden native and graduate of Creative Arts High School. During her time there she was interested in Fashion Design, Entrepreneurship, became Class President, and even started a beauty business - […]
We're thrilled to announce yet another success for our Hopeworks young adults and a continued progression in our partnership with Akamai! This talented trio, Jayson, Patrick, and Kylie have been welcomed into the 2024 Customer Support Interns Cohort, ready to dive into daily tasks and customer relationship management. This 6-month journey isn't just a short-term […]
