Support Young Adults Interested in Tech! Hack the Hood seeks Volunteers for Web Design Bootcamp

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Do you have professional skills you want to share with young adults or non-profits? Are you interested in supporting small businesses in a changing Bay Area? Hack the Hood is a nonprofit that connects low-income young adults of color from the Bay Area with local small businesses and professionals through tech and coding bootcamps. Read on to learn how you can support us!

About Hack the Hood’s Coding Bootcamp and Partnership with Small Business Owners: Our seasonal programs introduce participants to the fundamental skills of coding and web development, and offer career and educational development. In Hack the Hood’s Coding Bootcamp, program participants harness professional soft and hard skills by creating a website for their clients, local small business owners (SMBs) who lack a major online presence. Many of these SMBs are long-time community mom and pop shops who don’t yet utilize technology and social media or new business owners who are still establishing themselves. With a website and social media knowledge, SMB clients can reach new customers and increase profits. Upon completion of the Coding Bootcamp, participants are encouraged to take their skills to the next level by enrolling in more advanced bootcamps such as Code Berkeley. Hack the Hood strives to support youth in their next academic or career step towards pursuing work experience in tech. See examples of SMB websites created in Hack the Hood’s Coding Bootcamp here and here .

Hack the Hood’s Framework on Youth Development:

Hack the Hood approaches youth holistically, as we support youth not only in their tech endeavors, but work to support their personal and professional development. We aim to foster a strong community-one wherein young adults feel consistently supported and can build trust with our staff and reliable adults who will forge mentor-like relationships. We are looking for patient and open-minded adults who have an empathetic understanding of various forms of privilege and intersectionality, especially in the context of the tech industry and the Bay Area. Volunteers must recognize that they too can step back and learn from the young people we serve, and strive to meet program participants where they are, both emotionally and skill-wise.

Position Description:
The Tech Coach will tutor young adults, ages 18-25, in their Coding Bootcamp, where they learn HTML, CSS, and Javascript, and build a website for a small business client. The Tech Coach will also support program participants in professional development by sharing insight on code switching, social entrepreneurship, customer service, and the tech industry. We prioritize candidates who relate to the experiences of our young adults, but we welcome applications from everyone. It’s fundamental that Tech Coaches can build rapport with participants, as they’ll be working very closely with and administering feedback to them.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide one-on-one guidance and feedback to a small group of young adults as they learn the basics of coding
• Treat young adults with respect and the growth mindset, that all humans can continue to grow and learn

• Support program participants’ independent problem solving

• Support program participants’ interests
• Meet the participants where they’re at, regarding their skill level and professional development
• Report anything overheard or experienced that could compromise a young adult’s safety

Skills and Qualifications:

• Proficient knowledge of HTML, CSS, Javascript, and web development (a plus: teaching others in this)
• Prior knowledge or willingness to get up to speed on Weebly, a web-building tool
• Strong competency in managing the web and Google Drive, Slack, LinkedIn, and social media channels
• Experience working with young adults of color, ages 18-25 (a plus: teaching young adults of color)
• Eagerness to jump in and build rapport with program participants
• Share and practice Hack the Hood’s perspective on youth development
• A plus: Experience navigating the tech industry from a non-traditional background (specifically speaking to folks of color, women, members of LGBTQI communities, and/or individuals who graduated from coding bootcamps, community colleges, or are self-taught coders)

Program season duration : February 19, 2018 through March 30, 2018

Time Commitment: Mon/Tues 1-4pm every week. Tech Coaches are invited and encouraged to arrive earlier than 1 to eat lunch with program participants and staff

Orientation Date: January 18, 2018 or February 8, 2018 at the Oakland Hack the Hood office, 439 International Blvd. #1, Oakland 94606.

Program Start Date: February 19, 2018 (Location TBD, Downtown Oakland)

Finish Date: March 27, 2017

Location: TBD, Downtown Oakland

Ideal Amount of Volunteers: 2

Our Bootcamps are held in downtown Oakland and all Tech Coaches must commit to coming every Monday and Tuesday from 1-4pm. We understand that this is a big time commitment and at this time we can only accept candidates who are available for all sessions. Thank you for understanding.

Schedule :

Week 1: Feb 19-20

Week 2: Feb 26-27

Week 3: March 5-6

Week 4: March 12-13

Week 5: March 19-20

Week 6: March 26-27

Requirements for working with program participants:

• Available between the hours of 12pm and 4pm on Mondays and Tuesdays
• Complete Volunteer Orientation on January 18, 2018 or February 8, 2018 at the Hack the Hood office, 439 International Blvd. #1, Oakland 94606
• Complete and clear Live Scan background check
• Attend the Small Business Owner and program participant mixer on March 1, 2018
• Over the age of 25
• Two reference checks, ideally someone who can speak to your experience working with youth

If interested, please email [volunteer@hackthehood.org] for next application steps.