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‘Meeting people where they are’

For nearly a decade, NewBoCo has been offering programs for all ages within our building.

Now we’re making more of an effort to bring those programs out into the community, too.

Just a few examples: Next Saturday, March 9, we’ll have a CoderDojo at the Wellington Heights Community Church in Cedar Rapids, giving kids the chance to try out drones, explore science-based activities and work with computers. That same day, we’ll also have Coffee + Code at Feedwell Kitchen and Bakery, where adults can chat with programmers from our team, ask questions, and compare notes about the industry.

Then on Tuesday, we’ll be at the Ladd Library in Cedar Rapids for Code 101, allowing people to build a website and see if coding is right for them.

“It just expands on what we’re doing here at NewBoCo, and that is putting our programs in places that people need it,” says NewBoCo’s Melissa Silver.

It hasn’t gone unnoticed. At Wellington Heights Community Church, Pastor Keeyon Carter told us that “often times, those innovative learning opportunities get passed up in under-resourced communities like Wellington Heights.”

NewBoCo programmer Robbie Nesmith, who often spends his Saturdays at Coffee + Code, says it’s important to meet people where they are if you want to make connections.

“We put a lot of focus on building community and just having an opportunity where we can just go out there and talk to a bunch of different people, and have a different crowd every week,” he says.

If you have a location near you or a partnership that you think that we should be involved with, don’t hestitate to reach out and let us know.

We’d love to meet you where you are.

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