BASKING RIDGE, N.J.,
July 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/
-- Minority middle school boys in four cities across the
country are gaining hands-on learning experience this summer with
advanced technology that is opening their eyes to many of the
exciting professional possibilities that STEM (science, technology,
engineering and math) and entrepreneurship skills can offer.
Experience the interactive Multimedia News Release here:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7580451-verizon-minority-boys-coding-program/
Minority Male Makers, a first-of-its-kind, two-year program
created by Verizon, aims to enable minority middle school males to
become creators and makers through 3D-design and app development.
The long-term program goal is to empower a new generation of
minority men by giving them lifelong technology and
entrepreneurship skills to build the innovations of tomorrow and
create brighter futures for themselves and their families.
Four leading Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the
nation - Jackson State University, North
Carolina A&T State University, Morgan State University and Kentucky State University - are directing this
pioneering program, instructing the students daily during
intensive, all-day technology classes on campus. The students will
also be mentored by minority college men, in collaboration with the
National CARES Mentoring Movement.
While much attention has been paid in recent years to empowering
girls in these subject areas, few programs exist that specifically
aim to spark boys' interest in STEM disciplines.
"More must be done to ensure that minority men have a chance for
a bright future," said Verizon Foundation President Rose Stuckey Kirk. "The number of black men who
earned science and engineering bachelor's degrees has remained
essentially unchanged for more than a dozen years.
"We have to do better, and Verizon aims to be part of the
solution by investing in the futures of minority men as early
as middle school," said Kirk.
Students in the program will participate in all-day
workshops, four to five days per week, for
approximately four weeks. And, once or twice a month during
the 2015-2016 school year, the students will participate in
additional sessions that will include mentoring and support in
their academic progress.
About the Verizon Foundation
The Verizon Foundation is
focused on accelerating social change by using the company's
innovative technology to help solve pressing problems in education,
healthcare and energy management. Since 2000, the Verizon
Foundation has invested more than half a billion dollars to improve
the communities where Verizon employees work and
live. Verizon's employees are generous with their donations
and their time, having logged more than 6.8 million hours of
service to make a positive difference in their communities. For
more information about Verizon's philanthropic work,
visit www.verizon.com/about/responsibility; or for
regular updates, visit the Foundation on Facebook
(www.facebook.com/verizonfoundation) and Twitter
(www.twitter.com/verizongiving).
VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive
speeches and biographies, media contacts and other information are
available at Verizon's online News Center
at www.verizon.com/news/. The news releases are
available through an RSS feed. To subscribe,
visit www.verizon.com/about/rss-feeds/.
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SOURCE Verizon