In many ways, the scene was a familiar one at Hopeworks -- youth and community members, huddled over screens, learning to code and to use technology to change their lives. However, it was different than a normal day at Hopeworks for two key reasons.
First, it wasn’t just Hopeworks youth learning. As we do every year, Hopeworks opened it doors to aspiring coders from 6 to 60 to come and learn to code by participating in workshops led by Hopeworks alumni and volunteers from companies in the area, including EPAM, Subaru, Linode, Rutgers, OceanRingTech, and many others.
Second, coding wasn’t all that was in store for the day. In the afternoon, Hopeworks held its first ever pitch competition, awarding over $3,500 in prizes to Hopeworks alumni who have started their own businesses. The prize money came from the Thomas family, the family of a Hopeworks alumna, in memory of Aaron Thomas. When Aaron Thomas passed away, the family dedicated all donations in his memory to Hopeworks to support youth entrepreneurship. This pitch competition was the first step!
The alumni businesses pitched included marketing and design companies, web design services, and many others! You can see a video of the entire event here!
Check out pictures from the entire day here
Hopeworks was recently awarded a 2023 American Water Charitable Foundation Workforce Readiness Grant that will be used to support its workforce development program that connects young adults to education, experience and a transformative career. Both Camden-based businesses have been partners for several years to provide real work experience to a group of young adults with state-of-the-art Geographic Information System …
CAMDEN, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--American Water (NYSE: AWK), the largest regulated water and wastewater utility company in the U.S., and the American Water Charitable Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization established by American Water, celebrated five years since relocating its national headquarters to the Camden, N.J. waterfront in 2018. In recognition, the Foundation provided a combined total of $25,000 in One …
Thank you to everyone who recently attended our Painting A Brighter Future Event! Community leaders, business professionals, Hopeworks alumni and more, came together to discuss the impact of the digital divide and how we can all help find a solution. In case you missed it, check out a short recap above! Thank you again to …
