StreetCode Academy Named Peninsula's 2021 Nonprofit Of The Year

EAST PALO ALTO, CA — StreetCode Academy in East Palo Alto was named the 2021 Nonprofit of the Year for the 13th Senate District by state Sen. Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park).

The organization, which seeks to empower communities of color in Silicon Valley with access to technology, was honored by Becker for its work to bridge the digital divide during the pandemic.

In response to COVID-19, StreetCode expanded its remote learning programs by providing 20,000 hours of free technology classes serving more than 5,500 people in the region. It also provided 2,500 students at the Ravenswood City School District with free tech support, and helped secure laptops for hundreds of students to use free of charge.

“In any given year, tackling this issue would be challenging enough,” Becker said during a virtual ceremony on Thursday. “Compound that with a once-in-a-century pandemic, and I can imagine it felt almost impossible. But rather than losing hope, amid the myriad of unprecedented challenges you all have had to tackle, you rose to the occasion. You ensured that education and economic opportunities were readily accessible to those truly in need of it.”

Becker added that organizations like StreetCode, founded in 2014, is “what happens when you add equity and innovation together.”

StreetCode offers courses in tech-literacy, including design, coding and entrepreneurship with a goal of helping students communicate with the tech community.

“In so many ways this past year threatened to widen the gap that exists within Silicon Valley — the poverty in the shadow of wealth and no bridge between. Yet in the midst of an unprecedented crisis, so many people stepped up to provide computers, internet access, technology education, and a hope for a better future,” said Olatunde Sobomehin, StreetCode Academy’s Chief Executive Officer. “It means the world to be honored by our state leadership in one of the most challenging years. It validates the work of an entire community to never stop pushing toward our best possibilities.”

Visit streetcode.org for more information on StreetCode Academy.