We named Empowr as a recipient of the Sony Create Action Grant to support their mission uplifting the Black community by creating the school-to-career pipeline. To combat racial wealth gaps and systems of inequality, Empowr’s comprehensive program teaches high-paying and in-demand skills to students to create a prosperous and equitable future. As recipients of the Create Action Grant, Empowr receives $50,000 in cash to continue and expand the organization's work, $50,000 in Sony Electronics products to support their action plan, and this Sony-produced short film telling their story.
“I want them to get to a level where they don’t have to worry about how they’re going to eat, how they’re going to pay the next bills. They have a savings. They have investments for the future, and then for them to purely focus on happiness,” says Adrian Devezin, founder and executive director of Empowr.
The Atlanta-based nonprofit teaches software development skills to students that translate to high-paying jobs. The organization creates culturally relevant curricula and works with partners to ensure all of their students obtain jobs upon graduation, and even before graduation.
“Learning how to code will be a cornerstone in finding more jobs later down the line in life. Because the world is going more technically advanced, so learning to code would be very beneficial,” says Empowr student Antonio.
Not only do their students learn software development fundamentals and entrepreneurship, they also participate in leadership training to reflect on themselves and their community. Students have the opportunity to meet with CEOs, industry experts, recruiters and civil rights leaders and learn the important skills to make them ready for all aspects of life.
100% of Empowr graduates have received job offers. Learn more about Empowr at empowrco.org.
See more of our past Create Action winners at alphauniverse.com/createaction.
