South L.A. Young People Code Websites For Local Companies at CODEchella Event

Los Angeles, Calif. — On Saturday, April 11th, YouthBuild Charter School of California (YCSC), with generous support from Colocation America, will host CODEchella, an all-day website coding event at L.A. Trade Tech College from 8:00am to 8:00pm. At the event, forty students will work in teams with local technology mentors and web designers to build websites for local businesses. Industry professionals from local graphic design and tech companies, such as Factual, Second Spectrum, and The Think Farm, have volunteered to serve as mentors. The event is the culmination of a week of intensive classes in HTML, CSS, and Adobe Photoshop, designed to help these students learn skills that will translate into jobs to lift them out of poverty. A panel of industry leaders and teachers will judge the students’ websites, with awards for the best website design at the end of the night.

“We want to continue to provide our students with hands-on experiences in the field of computer science,” said YouthBuild Charter School of California Founder/CEO Phil Matero. “We teach our young people to be leaders and social justice advocates. Teaching them how to code will not only open the door to a potential career in the tech industry, but will also provide them with a new skillset to support their communities.”

The students will be designing websites for local clients to help give back to their community and promote small businesses. These businesses include La Taquiza, Custom Cakes, and four others. All of the students participating in the event are young people of color, between the ages of 16-24, who previously dropped out of high school.

“At Colocation America, we understand that to be successful long term, we must invest in the youth of today,” said Colocation America VP of Online Strategies Samantha Walters. “When YouthBuild Charter School approached us about sponsoring CODEchella, we jumped at the chance to provide these students with an opportunity to learn how to code and develop the skills needed to succeed in the tech industry.”

CODEchella is not only an excellent opportunity for YouthBuild Charter School of California students to learn from professionals in the field, it’s also a fantastic opportunity for local tech companies to give back to the community and work towards closing the Digital Divide in South Los Angeles.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to help equip this next generation of bright, hard-working engineers and entrepreneurs,” stated Eric Lui, Director of Data Operations at Factual. “The STEM workforce of 2040 won't-- and can't afford to-- overlook talent, wherever it grows.”

CODEchella is a rebrand and re-launch of YCSC’s successful WebSlam event that took place last April. In addition to CODEchella, YCSC has several other computer science initiatives taking place or currently in the works, including a Tech Entrepreneurs Computer Science class launched at the school’s South L.A. site in February.

“Our students are incredibly resilient and resourceful young people,” said the school’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Coordinator Nadia Despenza. “These strengths are extremely useful in the field of computer science, where one must be creative and persevere through complex problem solving. I see computer science as a pathway for these young people to transcend some of the obstacles caused by poverty and strengthen their communities.”

Featured

  • Fellowes Launches New 3D Modular, Product Configurators

    Contract interiors and architectural solutions provider Fellowes recently announced the launch of new 3D modular and product configurators for several of its product lines, according to a news release. The new products offer SIF file integration and pricing for the Volo, Markerboards, Sena, and Rising product lines in connection with 3D Cloud, which provides 3D product visualization and 3D digital asset management.

  • Epson Receives Seven AV Industry Awards

    Projectors manufacturer Epson recently announced that it received multiple awards across the Higher Ed AV Awards, SCN Stellar Service Awards, and InfoComm 2025, according to a news release. The company was recognized for three projectors from its PowerLite L-Series line, accessories, installation process, and its customer support team.

  • old university building with visible aging signs, overlaid with digital data graphics like thermal maps, charts, and system icons

    Modernizing Higher Education Infrastructure: Why Smarter Facility Management Is Essential to Protecting Aging Schools

    Schools now have the opportunity to adopt smarter, more strategic approaches to futureproof operations and enhance the on-campus experience.

  • Addressing the Housing Affordability Crisis Through Creative Campus Development

    Many Southern California college and university campuses are living amidst surging housing costs, driving the need to house more of their populations on campus. Especially for community colleges, the need to support millions of unhoused and housing insecure students has become a prominent issue that lawmakers and institutions alike are trying to solve.

Digital Edition