TECH SAVVY

~Mission:To prevent youth entering into the judicial system and reducing youth incarceration, rebuilding their lives, through our cutting edge technology programming while contributing to a safer Minnesota.~

Dedicated to providing an enriching opportunity for underserved youth to utilize technology of computers, that bridges the digital divide and help prepare them for success in the 21 century and create career pathways.

The technology and digital world will engage youth in their community, improve self -esteem, reclaim at risk youth and build and develop technology skills that are required for the 21^st Century workforce. To also encourage or stimulate the desire in youth served to pursue degrees in computer programming or become the next Steve Jobs, wouldn’t that be amazing? The key is Skill Mastery!

Geographical Area: To date our organization has served youth from the following areas, North / South Minneapolis, Bloomington, St. Louis Park, Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, St. Paul and Hopkins.

Program Description:

Working together with academia and corporations like Best Buy, Microsoft to create world class, 21^st Century program (better known as collaborative learning) to inspire learning for decades to come and provide exceptional assets (youth) for the whole community. We hope to foster mentorships for life long relationships with these youths and the corporations.

That can be accomplished through our informal learning in the TECH SAVVY Program. Staff the program with skilled volunteer computer programmers that have the tools to teach youth. The youth will learn the following in the after school program on every Monday-Wednesday 2:00-5:00 pm, “on location” setting for instructions (schools, community centers).

The informal learning “on location” schools would be most preferred to harness student / youth engagement in an entirely new way. The other benefit of keeping on school grounds is to enhance ancillary relationship to be visible with school, best buy volunteers and staff and students can witness an explore interpersonal relationships in a way that is not possible in a traditional school setting. We will be leveraging resources and reduce liability insurance / waivers and cost for the program.

We create, implement and promote education through technology tools to help improve youth learning. Our youth will utilize their mobile access “smartphones, computers, laptops to increase their knowledge about the internet and navigate their environments. Make those items function adequately for key activities such as job search and familiarize themselves with “tech terms.” Lastly, as youth’s understanding of e-tools grows and as the creators of technology related to e-learning evolve it and attempt to make it more user friendly, they will be ready and part of that evolvement.

This program allows us to serve an additional 30 students to become skill proficient in technology and increase their likeliness to pursue a career in the same field. It will promote literacy and education through the field of technology. The program will surely reduce the technology divide to the underserved youth population we serve across the twin cities. Lastly, this program will increase youth safety and keep them positively engaged in their future.

21^st Century Technology Skills: Youth will learn

• Methodology

• Digital Age Literacy

• Inventive Thinking

• Graphic Design

• Effective Communication

• High Productivity

• Videography

• Web Design

• Robotics and participate in Vex Starstruck Competitions.

The collaborations focuses on  Public Schools Alternative Programs such as PYC & MNIC North-South Minneapolis and El Colegio Chater School. The youth participating in the TECH SAVVY will also participate in youth leadership and computer ethics during their programming. Participants will learn leaders around technology, how to responsible technology users, teach them that leaders don’t wait for someone else to lead or be in charge. Those leaders not only achieve their goals but their impact is felt into the future. They too, can be the next TECNOLOGY Inventor like Steve Jobs! Because volunteers become the backbone of many charitable efforts, it is important that non-profits such as ours to first recognize their skills / talents they bring they can help showcase our brand in the community.

Our TECH SAVVY Program geared toward underserved youth was designed to give them an opportunity to be introduced to something they have promise for the future and can provide them with a livable wage. It will be taught by staff who skilled and currently works in the field of computer technology and / or in digital world. Youth working along with Technology Staff Volunteers will only enhance the program outcome and show the youth that it is obtainable because they did it. It is an informal learning environment of our office, but with opportunities to learn in technology corporation settings will provide added hope and excitement to their learning. This experience of becoming skill proficient is something that they can carry back to their designated schools and community at large. Our program evaluation is typically being client satisfaction surveys and feedback from our partners who refer the youth to our programming.

Inclusion & Commitment to Diversity:

Our TECH SAVVY Program is committed to integrating a variety technology curriculums. TECH SAVVY will demonstrate that effective diversity coupled with inclusion in training / educational environments improves school performance and innovation. Youth from varied backgrounds and bring different perspectives and ideas, solutions and perspectives to workplace and schools that result in new products in technology, services and challenges to the status quo and in this case new collaborations. Such programming as TECH SAVVY brings a return on its investment. Our agency ensuring that we have conditions in place the ensure diversity and cultivate inclusion in our training programming. Our return of the program is maximized and students are engaged and productive and optimize talent in the technology field. Joining forces with academia and corporate America, schools, staff volunteers in its effort to combine diversity and inclusive culture is needed to truly drive value. In doing so, we will achieve the goal of providing much need computer programming to underserved youth with access to technology that bridges the digital divide and helps prepare them for success in the twenty-first century.

Success through Collaboration:

Working with social innovators such corporations  of technology to multiply the local efforts of underserved youth in the proficiency of technology through the TECH SAVVY Program to carry out many of corporate social responsibility programs is so exciting and an opportunity of a life time. Without the collaborations  many youths would never be exposed to such learning opportunity.

Our programming participation allows the youth to get the first taste of a business setting of technology corporations, will not only build skill proficiency in computer technology, learn to be producers of technology, while increasing their hopes and exposure to idea of one day working careers in those same great institutions of technology.