Sharefest Community Development
Sharefest
Sharefest serves vulnerable students aged 11-18, at 4 LAUSD continuation high schools, where students earn the remaining credits they need to complete their education and graduate. In addition, they provide mentoring programs for middle school students during summer break. Our grant for $25,800.00 provides 12 Macbook Pros, Apple Care, computer cases, and software for a mobile computer lab. Approximately 400 youth will use computers at school sites, in summer programs and in their Youth Development Center enhancing STEM, art, service-learning and social advocacy courses with access to software, online communities, and internet resources that would otherwise be unavailable. This will be their first computer lab and will be used on a daily basis; it will boost every aspect of youth programming promoting computer literacy, job readiness, self-advocacy, and collaboration. The software, which is commonly used in professional settings and enormously valuable for gaining employment, can be used across a broad range of programming, including coding, a much-needed tool for today’s tech-savvy workplaces. Technology will increase graduation rates and engage these kids during afternoons and summers when they are most vulnerable to negative influences around them.