By David Seduski | Development Associate
NFTE New York Metro’s GlobalGiving project for our unique Generation Tech (GenTech) program raised over $2,000! Thanks so much to those who did donate; because of you 25 new students learned to code and design innovative new apps in our tech-entrepreneurship program. With the modern economy more and more dependent on computer skills, NFTE New York Metro recognizes that students who have never learned how to code, design functional website, or develop user-friendly apps are at a significant disadvantage in the modern labor market. Participants in the GenTech program spend a portion of their summer in a coding "boot camp" where they learn HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Using these new abilities students are then tasked with creating a functional app of their own, as well as a business plan for to market their app.
One of the new tech-based businesses that came from the NFTE New York Metro program was HealthyMe. Alexandra R. of Queens, New York found herself struggling to find effective resources on diet and exercise. In response, using her computer skills, she created HealthyMe: a weight management app that features an internal pedometer, a “HelpMe” button and personalized Avatars. As she began taking notice of her community she was moved by the sight of overweight children suffering from everything from asthma to depression and diabetes. Thinking big, she plans to advertise her app to health insurance companies, the Obesity Action Coalition, and the New York State education department and believes that with their help she can effect change and “…decrease United States and global obesity.”
Alexandra’s performance in the New York Metro Regional Business Plan Competition earned her a spot in the National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge. To be held this October in the city, she will be able to pitch HealthyMe for a chance to win $25,000 in scholarships and seed capital. Her success throughout the NFTE program in New York was partially fueled by donors like those of who donated on Global Giving. Thanks again for thinking of our young developers, and for helping them to think in an entrepreneurial mindset.
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