Bank of America, Comcast NBCUniversal and Lenfest Foundation Help Launch Pilot of Coded By Kids' OnE Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Coded By Kids announced lead partners Bank of America, Comcast NBCUniversal and the Lenfest Foundation have invested nearly $1 million to launch the OnE Philadelphia (Opportunity and Equity for Philadelphia) initiative. This provides the foundation needed for Coded By Kids to begin to address diversity and inclusion in tech and innovation with long term solutions that are designed to deliver high-quality, sustainable career opportunities for communities of color in Philadelphia.

Coded By Kids is a nonprofit organization that provides young people with development, digital design, computer science, and tech startup–focused education programs. OnE Philadelphia, their new initiative, addresses the city's focus on short-term solutions to systemic racial inequity. By implementing a citywide tech education effort, OnE Philadelphia's mission is to transform the city into a pipeline for high-level tech talent and tech startup leaders.

The initiative is driven by three main strategies: creating an integrated tech education, skill development, and experiential learning ecosystem that targets high-growth opportunity careers; building the infrastructure needed to support an integrated ecosystem; and changing the way underrepresented Philadelphians look at tech and innovation in order to change the culture of the city.

"At the heart of my work as founder and CEO of Coded By Kids is my commitment to building one Philadelphia," said Sylvester Mobley, founder and CEO, Coded By Kids. "When you look at our city there are two vastly different realities that Philadelphians experience that are connected to the color of their skin. This outpouring of support we've received from Bank of America, Comcast, and The Lenfest Foundation demonstrates the value this pipeline will add to the city and acknowledges the collaborative effort it will take to make equity and inclusion a priority in the tech and entrepreneurship fields. The launch of OnE Philadelphia is just the beginning. It's going to take additional funding commitments from stakeholders around the city to make this successful. This isn't a one-time thing—this is an investment in lasting equity in our city."

Bank of America is committed to addressing issues that are fundamentally connected to economic mobility – like access to workforce development opportunities – to build more sustainable communities. As part of the bank's $1 billion, four-year commitment, $10 million was allocated to providing Economic Resiliency Grants to local organizations working to advance racial equality and economic opportunity for communities of color, including Coded By Kids. With these funds in addition to receiving Bank of America's Neighborhood Builders® grant, Coded By Kids is better equipped to launch the long-term initiative and bring access to tech and innovation opportunities to more Philadelphians.

"Our support of OnE Philadelphia is rooted in our commitment to meaningful solutions to advance racial equality and economic mobility in low- to moderate-income populations and communities of color," said Jim Dever, Philadelphia market president for Bank of America. "The work that Sylvester and his team have done so far to put this plan into action is inspiring and it's a pleasure to be a part of this transformative workforce readiness initiative."

Comcast has long been committed to addressing digital inequities so that all Americans have the opportunity to succeed in an increasingly digital world. Since 2011, its low-income, high speed broadband adoption program, Internet Essentials, has connected more than 8 million Americans to the Internet at home, including more than 288,000 Philadelphians. Beyond connectivity, Comcast is also focused on providing digital skills training to young people and to upskilling adults with the aim of improving economic mobility. Comcast's investment in OnE Philadelphia is part of the company's multi-year $100 million commitment to fight injustice and inequality and its mission to create a more connected and equitable society.

"Now more than ever, we need to ensure all of Philadelphia's residents have the opportunity to thrive in the digital economy," said Dalila Wilson-Scott, Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer at Comcast. "By providing tech skills training and educational opportunities to marginalized communities, OnE Philadelphia aligns perfectly with our company's commitment to advance digital equity. We look forward to working with Sylvester and the Coded by Kids team on this important initiative, and together, creating a brighter future for our city."

The Lenfest Foundation is committed to finding solutions for life-changing impact in Philadelphia for years to come through strategic investment and fostering collaboration.

"The Lenfest Foundation is committed to identifying and investing in initiatives, like OnE Philadelphia, that aim to find solutions that have a life-changing impact for generations to come," said Dr. Keith Leaphart, board chair, the Lenfest Foundation. "We believe in the power of opportunity, which is why partnerships like this are critical to providing Philadelphians with limitless career possibilities, ultimately strengthening our community as a whole."

To learn more about OnE Philadelphia and how to get involved with Coded By Kids, visit www.codedbykids.com.

Coded By Kids
Coded by Kids is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit tech education organization that utilizes project–based learning and mentorship to prepare underrepresented students to be the tech leaders of the future. Our programs are designed to provide young people of all backgrounds with intermediate to advanced level skills in areas where diversity, equity, and inclusion disparities are the greatest: software development, data science, and user experience design. We fight systemic inequity by empowering underrepresented young people and ensuring they are equipped with the skills and resources needed to become tech leaders and startup founders.

Bank of America
At Bank of America, we're guided by a common purpose to help make financial lives better, through the power of every connection. We're delivering on this through responsible growth with a focus on our environmental, social and governance (ESG) leadership. ESG is embedded across our eight lines of business and reflects how we help fuel the global economy, build trust and credibility, and represent a company that people want to work for, invest in and do business with. It's demonstrated in the inclusive and supportive workplace we create for our employees, the responsible products and services we offer our clients, and the impact we make around the world in helping local economies thrive. An important part of this work is forming strong partnerships with nonprofits and advocacy groups, such as community, consumer and environmental organizations, to bring together our collective networks and expertise to achieve greater impact. Learn more at about.bankofamerica.com, and connect with us on Twitter (@BofA_News).

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www.bankofamerica.com

Comcast Corporation
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq:CMCSA) is a global media and technology company with three primary businesses: Comcast Cable, NBCUniversal, and Sky. Comcast Cable is one of the United States' largest high-speed internet, video, and phone providers to residential customers under the Xfinity brand, and also provides these services to businesses. It also provides wireless and security and automation services to residential customers under the Xfinity brand. NBCUniversal is global and operates news, entertainment and sports cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, television production operations, television station groups, Universal Pictures, and Universal Parks and Resorts. Sky is one of Europe's leading media and entertainment companies, connecting customers to a broad range of video content through its pay television services. It also provides communications services, including residential high-speed internet, phone, and wireless services. Sky operates the Sky News broadcast network and sports and entertainment networks, produces original content, and has exclusive content rights. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.

The Lenfest Foundation
The Lenfest Foundation is a Philadelphia-based foundation which is committed to supporting promising strategies that will have a life-changing impact on Philadelphia's youth for generations to come.  We work to strengthen community supports for young people, especially during critical transitions in their education and development.  We invest and work with partners to help youth discover passions and explore future possibilities during middle school, high school and early adulthood. Through the efforts of our grantee network, it is our aspiration that youth and young adults will possess the skills necessary to thrive in the local and global economy.

Visit www.lenfestfoundation.org for more information.

SOURCE Comcast NBCUniversal