Hamilton Code Clubs receives Future Fund dollars

Hamilton Code Clubs (@HamOntCodeClub) has received $86,000 from the Hamilton Future Fund!

Hamilton Future Fund was created by the City of Hamilton in 2002 when Hamilton Hydro was sold and the money was put into reserves, one of which is used to fund community initiatives such as Hamilton Code Clubs.

Hamilton Code Clubs itself started off in the Fall of 2014 at a Chamber of Commerce committee meeting when an initial pilot program was organized, and is now run by IEC Hamilton (@IECHamilton) with Software Hamilton as a partner.

Hamilton Code Clubs runs lunch hour “learn to code” clubs focusing on grade 6-8 female students and students in priority neighbourhoods. The clubs introduce the students to introductory programming technologies like Scratch and Khan Academy in an effort to increase post-secondary enrolment in computer science related programs. The program has reached 400 students in 20 Hamilton-area schools in 2016!

In addition to the funding received from the Future Fund, Hamilton Code Clubs has also been funded by the ABACUS grant of the Hamilton Community Foundation and by ArcelorMitttal Dofasco.

The Future Fund money is of critical help to continue the program and to expand the program in some forms as well – stay tuned for updates!