A Bay Area tech bootcamp is helping youth design a ‘BRIGHTER FUTURE’ Find Your Place this Christmas— and beyond

Resources aim to connect others with The Salvation Army.

BY HILLARY JACKSON

|PHOTO BY JOHN DOCTER

BY KRISTIN MARGUERITE DOIDGE

Anew Bay Area tech bootcamp is providing opportunities for youth to learn and embrace creativity at the Modesto (California) Red Shield Community Center through a partnership with Bay Valley Tech, a free coding academy founded by tech entrepreneur Phil Lan.

The “Kids Tech Bootcamp” offers classes after school for youth interested in getting a headstart in learning a wide variety of tech, design and coding skills using apps like Canvas and Scratch to teach everything from app development to marketing and entrepreneurialism.

“Working with the kids at The Salvation Army continues to be an amazing experience,” said Blake Shaw, in- structor and Director of Strategic Partnerships at Bay Valley Tech. “We intended to teach kids from the ages of 11 to 17, however, we’ve been teaching kids as young as 7.”

Shaw, who went through the bootcamp himself, understands firsthand the power of investing in the local community. He’s enjoyed helping his students learn how to create and design a three-level playable game with cover art, and looks forward to helping them celebrate their achievement at an “awards night” ceremony soon.

For Lan, the notion of “giving back” is part of the company’s DNA. A successful engineer and tech entrepreneur in the early days of Silicon Valley, Lan never

This Christmas season, Ridgecrest (California) Corps Officer Lt. Gina Noble has a new tool to recruit bellringers: the Find Your Purpose card. The navy and white business card includes a link to sign up for volunteering at the kettle, a task vital to the corps’ ability to serve the community.

“We are 100-percent volunteer for kettles, so we need folks giving a few hours of time to our fundraising at local retailers,” Noble said, noting the corps has distributed the cards at all community meetings, like Rotary, since receiving them. They have also been delivered to collaborating churches and public service partners at City Hall, the hospital, the neighboring military base and to the police and fire departments. Additionally, Noble included the cards in the giveaways for an event and in 150 food boxes the corps distributed. She shared plans to hand out the cards along with cookies at the corps’ canteen during the Desert Empire Fair Oct. 22 that typically attracts 10,000 people. The best