Boundless Donates $100,000 to LaunchCode in Support of CoderGirl Education Program
NEW YORK – August 29, 2017 – Boundless, the leader in open GIS, today announced that it has donated $100,000 to LaunchCode, a nonprofit that places aspiring technologists in apprenticeships and jobs in technology. The new donation will be used to support and expand its CoderGirl program throughout the St. Louis area.
Now in its third year, CoderGirl is a LaunchCode education program designed to engage and educate women in the technology community in St. Louis. It is a year-long technology training program consisting of two six-month cycles: a learning cycle and a project cycle. CoderGirl provides a space for women of all skill levels to learn to code in a supportive community of like-minded individuals. The program arms women with the training and support needed to launch a successful career in technology.
“At Boundless, we are passionate about supporting our local tech community by advancing education and entrepreneurship for women in tech,” said Andy Dearing, CEO of Boundless. “We are excited to support such a forward-thinking program and look forward to seeing its continued expansion and success.”
Co-founded in 2013 by Square co-founder Jim McKelvey, LaunchCode provides pathways to upward mobility through paid apprenticeships and job placement in the technology sector. Since its inception, LaunchCode has enrolled more than 4,200 students and launched over 850 technology careers. More than half of LaunchCode’s apprenticeship placements were unemployed prior to joining the program, and span a variety of ages, backgrounds and education levels. Today, more than 80 percent of apprentices are hired at the end of their apprenticeship.
“CoderGirl seeks to empower and inspire women to change the face of technology professionals not only in St. Louis, but nationwide,” said Jeff Mazur, Executive Director at LaunchCode. “Boundless’ support is critical for developing and expanding our education programs. With this new donation, we’ll be able to open new locations which will allow for increased enrollment.”
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Boundless is the leader in commercially supported open GIS (geographic information systems). Unlike proprietary solutions, Boundless opens the world of geospatial data to any user. The experts at Boundless reduce the cost and time of deploying and managing geospatial software with a scalable, open GIS platform – including Exchange, Suite, Desktop and Connect – and a powerful ecosystem of geospatial knowledge, tools and resources. Learn more at boundlessgeo.com. Join the GIS community at https://connect.boundlessgeo.com/. Follow Boundless @boundlessgeo.
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