youthspark initiative – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

To Celebrate Kids Helping Kids Across the Globe, Microsoft Sponsors First U.S. We Day

By Guest PostMarch 27, 2013Technologychild labor, christmas toy giveaway, coast of uganda, craig kielburger, digigirlz, free the children, jennifer hudson, keyarena, kids helping kids, lori harnick, magic johnson, martin luther king, martin sheen, mia farrow, microsoft ceo, microsoft sponsors, nelly furtado, Pakistan, seattle, steve ballmer, we act program, we day, we day event, young canadian, youthspark initiative

As part of its YouthSpark initiative to create opportunities for youth, Microsoft welcomes 15,000 students to We Day at Seattle’s KeyArena.

SEATTLE — March 27, 2013 — At the age of 12, while looking for the morning comics in the newspaper, Craig Kielburger stumbled upon a news item about a 12-year-old boy killed in Pakistan for speaking out against child labor. Outraged by the story, he desperately wanted to do something to help. After a number of phone calls and attempts to contact nonprofit organizations, Kielburger realized it wasn’t so easy for kids to get involved with social activism. That’s when he got an idea.

That same year, the young Canadian founded his own nonprofit, Free The Children, to pave the way for kids to help other kids around the world. Twelve years later, in 2007, Kielburger took his organization to the next level, launching the We Act program in schools across Canada and creating a more widespread approach to helping youth make a difference. As part of the program, Free The Children hosts a celebration in each participating city called We Day. (more…)

Student Startup Aims to Prevent Traffic Jams

By Guest PostDecember 4, 2012Technologyaaron tushabe, akhtar badshah, analyze, andrew lin, anton posternikov, anton stepanov, asthma, australia, bing maps, christian breuggeman, cloud service, CO2, coca cola, crunch data, cy khormaee, david musinguzi, egypt, enable talk, grants program, graphmasters, health buzz, hon weng chong, imagine cup, joseph kaizzi, joshua okello, josiah kavuma, kim ramchen, london starbucks, mahsa salehi, maxim osika, Microsoft, navigation software, network, nunav, pneumonia, prevent, student startup, team greenway, team lifelens, team stethocloud, team vivid, traffic jams, valeriy yasakov, windows azure, youthspark initiative

Winners of the second annual Imagine Cup Grants program, part of Microsoft’s YouthSpark initiative, include student startups aiming to eliminate traffic jams and bring cheap, effective ways to diagnose childhood pneumonia.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Dec. 4, 2012 — Traffic jams typically produce little more than frustration, profanity, and CO2. Four years ago, though, they happened to give Christian Brüggeman an idea.

He was sitting in a London Starbucks with a friend and fellow computer science student. As they chatted, they noticed that one street outside was choked with cars while another was practically empty.

They wondered why drivers weren’t taking advantage of every possible route. If cars could be directed along less-congested roads, wouldn’t that prevent back-ups before they began? (more…)

Microsoft YouthSpark Grants to Encourage Youth to Do Great Things

By Guest PostSeptember 23, 2012Jobs, Technology21 st, akron, alex richards, america, anthony carmona, boys, brian hughes, brighton, century, Chicago, city year, clubs, create, cristian malpica, girls, high school, ja, marlin dacruz, megan pilbeam, Microsoft, new york, newton, nfte, nonprofit, ohio, opportunity, orion casey, ozone park, ryan gomes, samantha lewis, skill, stephanie foxworth, stephen hall, tiffany hill, travis holloway, US, Washington, world, year up, youth, youthspark initiative

As part of a commitment to create opportunities for 300 million youth around the world during the next three years, Microsoft announces support for five national U.S. nonprofits that focus on youth causes. Here’s a look at how these organizations are making a difference.

REDMOND, Wash. — As part of the launch of the Microsoft YouthSpark initiative, Microsoft announced national partnerships with five major nonprofit organizations with missions to give youth the skills, education and job training they need to succeed: Boys & Girls Clubs of America, City Year, Junior Achievement USA (JA), Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) and Year Up.

On the surface, the nonprofit grants aim to bolster programs that help youth learn important 21st-century skills, find jobs and connect with caring adult mentors. (more…)

Tag Archives: youthspark initiative

To Celebrate Kids Helping Kids Across the Globe, Microsoft Sponsors First U.S. We Day

Student Startup Aims to Prevent Traffic Jams

Microsoft YouthSpark Grants to Encourage Youth to Do Great Things