Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) has long had an education arm as part of its philanthropic efforts at the company, and today it announced that it would donate $100,000 in conjunction with two partners that would allow kids to build then program their own game consoles for just £60. The two partners that Google are Code Club and Technology Will Save Us.
The partners
The former is a network in the UK for volunteer led after school coding instruction for 9-11 year-old kids, while Technology Will Save Us will add the DIY game consoles to its catalog of tech related kits aimed at younger audiences that it manufacturers.
While the kits are already on sale, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s RISE program will pay for 900 kids’ kits along with sessions from Code Club at no cost to the upstart techies.
The kit itself consists of 40 parts that need to be soldered to a circuit board, once that is finished kids will then have the ability to program their own games for play on the Arduino-controlled console. Code Club’s network will be called on to help the kids from soldering to design and programming.
Google looks to the future
It’s difficult to think that Google will not be around “from cradle to grave” for numerous generations going forward. At age 40, Google has been in my life for nearly 20 years, but as the company continues to grow and explore other areas outside of its core search offerings it’s going to need kids who want to work for the company as adults.
As one of the most desirable companies to work at, Google has never struggled to keep itself staffed and sees roughly 1000 resumes for every one hire the company makes. That said, the company and kids will certainly benefit from gaining these (now) essential skills for a potential lifetime in technology.
While $100,000 is nothing for Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG), they’ve made that in the time it took me to write this piece, its heart remains in the right place.
