Brownsville’s Youth Design Center Chosen as One of 50 Black-led Orgs to Receive $300K Microsoft Grant
Image description: Commencement presentation of young artist, Irianna Frink, pointing to a screen with logos designed during the Creative Apprenticeship Program in front of fellow graduates and guests. The program is one of several initiatives the Microsoft grant will support over the next 3 years for East Brooklyn residents.
[BROOKLYN, New York] – December 18, 2020 – This week, Microsoft announced Brownsville, Brooklyn-based Youth Design Center (formerly Made in Brownsville) was chosen as one of 50 community-based nonprofits across the nation to participate in its community skills grant program—a multi-year, $300 thousand dollar investment. This program will provide Youth Design Center significant financial support, leadership development and technology enablement over the next three years to support digital skills and workforce development opportunities in our community.
Microsoft’s community skills program is a part of Microsoft’s broader commitment to skills for employability and promoting racial equity in the United States. It is a $15 million dollar investment over three years to accelerate the work of Black- and African American-led nonprofits that provide digital skills and workforce development to Black and African American communities.
Quardean Lewis-Allen, Founder & CEO of Youth Design Center said, “As a member of the Brownsville and East New York communities, it’s important to me to bring best-in-class training and certification programs led by industry leading professionals that care, and to operate sustainable programs that are accountable to our community. We are proud to partner with Microsoft to steward this investment in 360 young people over the next three years. Our collective futures are rooted in their success.”
“Last June, our CEO Satya Nadella committed Microsoft to put its data, technology, and partnerships to work to help improve the lives of Black and African American people across the country,” said Kate Behncken, Vice President and Lead of Microsoft Philanthropies. “We’re proud to partner with these fifty organizations, led by and serving Black and African American people, that are providing access to the digital skills needed for so many jobs today. We’re inspired by their work, and excited we can be a part of it.”
With this investment from Microsoft, Youth Design Center will provide introductions to career options and support the acquisition of new skills that will prepare young people for successfully navigating a swiftly evolving job market. Over the next three years Youth Design Center aims to provide exposure to professional pathways in STEAM and effect increased proficiency in tech and design skills and software for the 360 young people we will serve. Moreover, we expect to work with 150 of our alumni to secure industry-recognized certifications in relevant technologies.
The economic crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic and accelerating rate of global digital transformation marks this as an important time for Youth Design Center to expand its professional skills development programs. Black and African American communities have felt the impacts of this pandemic disproportionately, and Youth Design Center aims to work with the communities it serves to ensure an equitable economic recovery.
See the full list of community skills program grantees here.
Youth Design Center
Based in Brownsville, Brooklyn, Youth Design Center is a creative hub that empowers young people to reach their potential with skills in design thinking, art, multimedia, tech, and communication.
