What happens when you combine a passion for technology with a dedication to spreading social good?

Well, you get a lot of the folks at 8x8, but also you get a pretty special collaboration that will help make the great tech innovators of tomorrow.

At 8x8, we enjoy supporting many charities and social enterprises all around the world with employees getting a number of paid volunteer days a year. One social enterprise in particular is giving us a real buzz at the moment.

Sponsorship provided by 8x8 has so far inspired a whopping 1,440 young minds to become the tech innovators of tomorrow.

They’re speaking our (programming) language

Get with the Program is an award-winning social enterprise that brings exciting coding adventures into schools to inspire children of all ethnicities, genders, and privilege levels to explore tech.

After our success at the Women in Tech Excellence Awards last year, when Jessica Mowatt beat off the likes of Meta to bring an award back to 8x8, GwtP CEO Jeni Trice, approached 8x8’s Nicola Fros and they discovered an alignment between 8x8 and Get with the Program’s social value goals.

8x8 and Get With The Program’s Shared Social Value Goals

1. Commitment to overcoming inequality in access to tech and tech learning. ✅

2. Desire to inspire the tech innovators of the future. ✅

3. Belief in tech as a way to solve some of the world’s biggest problems. ✅

4. Passion for diversity in tech and STEM careers. ✅

5. Encouragement of women in technology. ✅

6. Support for the UN Sustainable Development Goals. ✅

7. Conviction that learning about tech should be FUN. ✅✅✅

A creative, fun way to learn about tech

The creative, fun interactive coding shows run by Get with the Program are based around real-world themes that appeal to children. These include Moon Landing and Healthy Lunch-bot Coding Adventures, as well as an Eco Coding Adventure based around environmental themes of waste reduction and Net Zero. These are initiatives that echo 8x8’s own commitment as part of our ESG focus. With so much synergy between us, it has been extremely rewarding to work with Get with the Program to roll out an Eco Coding Adventure both in-person at schools in Hull and remotely.

There’s even a robot.

Learning through storytelling

The Coding Adventures are delivered through performance and storytelling, featuring ‘AL the Robot’ and a white-coated ‘Professor’. Over a quarter of a million children have enjoyed the unique, experiential coding adventures to date. The sponsorship provided by 8x8 has so far inspired a whopping 1,440 young minds to become the tech innovators of tomorrow.

One of the schools is being selected by 8x8 employees, with opportunities for ten volunteers to support the children in the chosen school. We will also sponsor the remote delivery of a further seven Eco Coding Adventures so that even more children can be inspired.

Let’s get excited about tech

By capturing the creative imagination of children, Get with the Program’s Coding Adventures inclusively encourages children to get excited about technology. It has been fantastic to be involved with Get with the Program and see them working with young people to inspire, empower, and prepare them for a digital future.

Volunteering at 8x8

8x8 is fully supportive of digital inclusion to get girls and children from marginalized groups into tech and address the tech skills shortage by encouraging young people’s interests in STEM subjects. The volunteering opportunities underpin 8x8’s commitment to volunteering. Employees get two paid Volunteer Days a year. This has seen 370 hours of volunteering undertaken by our employees with activities including beach cleans, food bank sorting, and social value initiatives like Get with the Program.

Get with the Program is a hugely fun and rewarding initiative to be involved with. There’s so much more behind the work that they do. Check it out for yourself and get with the program to help boost digital skills and inclusivity.