Hack4Hope Launches in St. Louis to Immerse Teens in Technology and Business

    ST. LOUIS, MO, June 09, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- St. Louis' newest technology education initiative launching this summer is Hack4Hope, a weekend Hackathon and six-month academy geared toward preparing underserved youth for careers in technology. From Friday, July 10 through Sunday, July 12, 2015, students with little to no experience from low-opportunity communities will spend a weekend in Downtown St. Louis, free of charge, at innovative co-working space and technology incubator T-REX. Students will be mentored by some of the tech industry's most experienced programmers, innovators and business strategists and will emerge as young coders armed with an introduction to technology, an infusion of confidence and access to a support network dedicated to their STEAM education that would advance any entrepreneurial pursuits.

Lead partners in this groundbreaking initiative are entrepreneur support organization ITEN and volunteer teacher outfit Education Exchange Corps. Additional partnerships include EPIPHANY Inc., Organize 411, Service Works, St. Louis Housing Authority, SLATE, LaunchCode, Blue 1647 and Microsoft store at Saint Louis Galleria. Partner Aimee Krummenacher, CEO of Organize 411, says, "The St. Louis business community from local corporate offices to professional individuals who have come on board are invested in developing young talent in the St. Louis area, and it shows!"

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2012 Missouri led the nation in percentage growth in the area of computer systems design. Hack4Hope Hackathon and follow-up Hack4Hope Academy aims to diversify the St. Louis tech industry by providing a strong pipeline to opportunity and training for local teens. Parkway School District's IT department has also joined Hack4Hope to help facilitate this training.

"The City of St. Louis is a hotbed for tech startups, and the St. Louis region is often highlighted for its innovation," Mayor Francis Slay said. "And the more of that ingenuity we can foster, the more solutions we can create to solve problems. That's what I like most about Hack4Hope's collaborative model -- that it brings educational opportunities through coding and entrepreneurship to students in all neighborhoods to help bring their innovations to light."

Hack4Hope is the brainchild of award-winning filmmaker and St. Louisan, Nicole Franklin and her company EPIPHANY Inc. Franklin says, "This is an opportunity for students to voice their issues through computer programming, app design, and analytical skills and hack a solution to better community relations as well as their own futures."

Hack4Hope Weekend Hackathon
When: Friday, July 10 4pm - Sunday, July 12 1pm (Awards Ceremony: 3pm)
Where: T-REX, 911 Washington Ave., St. Louis, MO 63101
Cost: FREE

Hack4Hope Academy (Six-month course load): www.hack4hope.com/academy

What is a Hack4Hope Hackathon?
A Hack4Hope Hackathon is a gathering of young technologists, problem solvers and their mentors in order to brainstorm, design and build software as well as a web or mobile app that can change the world, create a business, or both. With recent events that have compelled young people of certain neighborhoods to grow up faster than the average child, a Hack4Hope weekend Hackathon event and additional six-month calendar of activities involving partners in technology and leadership initiatives across the city will give students the power to transform their worlds through social innovation, education and technology.

Hack4Hope Partners:

Our full list of participating partners may be viewed at this link: http://www.hack4hope.com/partners/

Partners include the following:

BLUE1647
Education Exchange Corps
EPIPHANY Inc./An EPIPHANY Conversation
ITEN
LaunchCode
Microsoft store at St. Louis Galleria
Organize411
ServiceWorks
St. Louis Housing Authority
SLATE

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