Phone2Action Integrates With The White House's "We The People" Petition Site, And Launches New Civic Tech Fund For Minority D.C. Students
WASHINGTON, Aug. 25, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Phone2Action today announced that its software platform has integrated with We the People, the White House's official petition site. Users will now be able to submit signatures collected via a Phone2Action campaign to count toward a chosen We the People petition.
"This integration is another step in ensuring that citizens' voices count in government decision making. Phone2Action's digital advocacy platform has already helped people weigh in on more than 3,000 legislative issues they care about, and integration with We the People will further our mission to make civic engagement easier for all," said Jeb Ory, Co-Founder of Phone2Action.
The integration follows Phone2Action's participation in the White House's Demo Day by the launch of a $250,000 development fund to prepare D.C. youth for the tech jobs pipeline. The program focuses on low-income, minority, and female high school and college-age students in the D.C. Metro area, to work in the areas of open government, communications, and civic technology. On Tuesday, August 25, Phone2Action will host an outreach event of the program in D.C. which will feature entrepreneurs Jared Kleinert, 19 and Stacey Ferreira, 22, as they discuss their new book, 2 Billion Under 20.
This civic tech fund advances Phone2Action's mission by identifying students 16 to 22 years old interested in careers in technology, and engaging them in a yearlong mentorship and skills training program. They will receive training, modeling, and mentorship and work together to build new civic technology applications using the Phone2Action platform and other civic data tools. They will present their applications at a demo day at the end of the program.
"It is absolutely critical — both for the tech industry's future and for America's future — that we engage students at a young age to get them interested in technology. Only five percent of high schools in the United States have any sort of relevant, up-to-date technology curricula and most are not in underserved communities. By specifically recruiting and training students from lower-income and minority communities, we hope to change today's reality of an industry accessible only to a privileged few. Young people of all ages and backgrounds are capable of (and already are) achieving great things in technology — all they need is some encouragement and support, which we hope to provide," said Patrick Stoddart, Co-Founder of Phone2Action.
About Phone2Action
Phone2Action helps amplify advocacy efforts with tools that drive effective engagement. Phone2Action's platform gives organizations, companies, and associations innovative tools to engage their supporters — driving actions, building connections, and winning campaigns. Phone2Action's campaign management and mobile-optimized tools make it easier than ever to engage new supporters and help them take quick, concrete actions, like making phone calls or sending emails to elected officials at the local, state, and federal level, or enrolling in public programs and services. To learn more, visit www.Phone2Action.com.
SOURCE Phone2Action
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