TECHNOLOGY TRAINING PROGRAM RECEIVES $25,000 GRANT FOR SOUTH SUBURBAN STUDENTS

Mentoring Youth Through Technology recently received a $25,000 grant from the Comcast Foundation to support technology training in Matteson and Richton Park. Photo Credit: Comcast
Mentoring Youth Through Technology recently received a $25,000 grant from the Comcast Foundation to support technology training in Matteson and Richton Park. Photo Credit: Comcast

Technology Training Program Receives $25,000 Grant For South Suburban Students

The Mayor of the Village of Matteson, Sheila Chalmers-Currin, the Mayor of Richton Park, Rick Reinbold, and Illinois Representative Robin Kelly recently gathered to announce that Mentoring Youth Through Technology would be receiving a $25,000 grant from Comcast to fund a variety of technology training programs for middle school students in Matteson and Richton Park.

Mentoring Youth Through Technology is an organization that offers technology training programs for young people in Illinois, Mississippi, and Tennessee. The organization trains students in robotics, coding, game development, 3D animation, graphic design, web design, application development, network engineering, and computer hardware through summer camps, workshops, after-school programs, and technology conferences.

“We’re a nonprofit that provides hands-on technology services to youth, ages six to 18, in robotics, coding, game development, and things of that nature. Our goal is to get the kids more involved and exposed to technology, with the hopes that they’ll pursue it as a career as well,” said Randall Carter, executive director of Mentoring Youth Through Technology.

The organization seeks out students that don’t have an opportunity to learn about technology and engineering in their regular school curriculum and exposes them to new concepts in the hopes that it will inspire their career path.

“The challenge today is that there are hundreds of thousands of technology jobs available in the U.S. and we have nobody to fill them. Our goal is to expose the youth and communities that may not have been exposed to these technology fields and inspire them in those areas,” said Carter.

As a global media and technology company, Comcast is a potential employer for these young people that are just beginning to learn about the technology field and the Comcast Foundation is their philanthropic arm that supports programs designed to build new leaders, according to information from Comcast.

“As a leading technology company, we are interested in ensuring that the adoption of technology continues and grows, especially in certain communities where it may not necessarily be readily available. Mentorship is a major goal of the Comcast Foundation and Mentoring Youth Through Technology is an organization that does exactly what we would like to see happening in the communities we serve,” said Yohan Fernando, spokesperson for Comcast.

This is not the first time Comcast has partnered with Mentoring Youth Through Technology and Fernando said that he does not see their relationship ending anytime soon.

With the new funding, Mentoring Youth Through Technology will be able to provide a free eight-week-long science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) camp for students in Richton Park and Matteson, according to Carter.

“I firmly believe that mentoring is one of the most important tools we have to empower and uplift our young people to ensure they have a bright future.

As a proud volunteer mentor myself, I know Mentoring Youth Through Technology’s training programs will be a powerful game-changer for young people in my community,” said Illinois Representative Robin Kelly.

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