MADISON, WI, July 16, 2020, –YWCA Madison has received a grant in collaboration with YWCA USA to expand YWCA Madison’s signature program, YWeb Career Academy, nationwide. This initiative is a part of Google.org’s $5 million-dollar commitment to YWCA USA to encourage program expansion of YWCA Madison’s successful program. YWCA Madison is proud to train and offer this programming to the inaugural cohort of grantees at 15 YWCA associations across the country that are using the grant to improve job training programs and increase access to digital skills for women and underserved Americans.
As part of YWCA Madison’s ongoing mission to eliminate racism and empower women, the YWeb Career Academy program provides education in digital skills to traditionally underserved or vulnerable populations, such as low-wage workers and survivors of domestic violence. The program’s target population is women and people of color. YWCA Madison couples this programming with wrap-around and barrier-reduction services such as child care, stipends, rent assistance, transportation, case management, and job coaching and placement to ensure each participant’s success.
“Providing pathways for women to receive the necessary workforce training and digital skills to access competitive jobs in the digital economy is more important now than ever,” said Jacquelline Fuller, President of Google.org. “We are proud to stand with the YWCA USA’s mission to eliminate racism and empower women.”
“YWCA Madison views this opportunity as a critical investment in communities of color and women in building family sustaining careers, building wealth, and diversifying the tech industry. We have successfully administered YWeb Career Academy since 2014 here in Madison, and it is an honor to expand it more broadly,” said Vanessa McDowell, YWCA Madison, CEO.
“YWCA is thrilled to partner with Google.org as we work to create innovative approaches to workforce development and forge new ways to bring the future of work and skills development to women and communities of color across the country, said Alejandra Y. Castillo, CEO, YWCA USA. “The greater goal of the partnership surpasses well beyond the scope of the grant. We are breaking down barriers and creating a path to success for women, veterans, and people of color that may not have been available without these new programs and initiatives.”
YWeb Career Academy is a workforce development program created by YWCA Madison (Madison, WI), that trains women and people of color to become web developers or designers and places them in family-sustaining jobs. In Madison, Wisconsin, Cohort 13 starts September 8, 2020, and concludes on December 16, 2020. https://www.ywcamadison.org/what-were-doing/employment-transit/yweb-career-academy/yweb-career-academy-application/
About YWCA Madison
YWCA Madison continues to be committed to the financial and economic empowerment of the people of color and women we serve. ?To learn more about our programming, visit ywcamadison.org. Program funders include: A Fund for Women, Berbee Derby & Technology Education Foundation, City of Madison, Dane County FSET, Google, TASC, United Way of Dane County and YWCA USA
About Google.org
Google.org, Google’s philanthropy, supports nonprofits that address humanitarian issues and apply scalable, data-driven innovation to solving the world’s biggest challenges. We accelerate their progress by connecting them with a unique blend of support that includes funding, products, and technical expertise from Google volunteers. We engage with these believers-turned-doers who make a significant impact on the communities they represent, and whose work has the potential to produce meaningful change. We want a world that works for everyone—and we believe technology and innovation can move the needle in four key areas: education, economic opportunity, inclusion, and crisis response.
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