The C3 Initiative's Project Riri

The C3 Initiative seeks to use Project Riri as a "better strategy" that will provide computer science education to students from communities underrepresented in tech and STEM careers. According to a 2021 study from Code.org, "Only 51% of schools in the US offer any CS courses, and even then Black, Hispanic and Indigenous students are less likely to be enrolled at those schools. At schools that have a CS course, minority students are 1.4 times less likely than White and Asian peers to take it."

These types of statistics help explain why the tech workforce has a diversity problem as black, brown and female tech professionals are still minorities in the industry. Tech companies are having a difficult time finding diverse candidates to fill positions in one of the highest paying and fastest growing industries in the US. If minority youth are properly exposed to tech at a young age they would be more likely to enter the tech workforce.

The underrepresented groups mentioned previously could stem due to socioeconomic barriers and the lack of cultural competency and representation. Many minority youth face socioeconomic barriers making it less likely for them to be exposed to tech in traditional settings such as attending science boot camps or having tech classes as part of their school curriculum. Second, many minority youth are not being exposed to technology in a way that relates to them culturally. Presently, minority youth lack the exposure to tech disciplines and how real world challenges are solved by tech in terms these children can understand. Third, the lack of seeing black, brown and female tech professionals in the present day makes it seem less likely for minority youth to become tech professionals in the future. There also remains the fact that just learning just any tech curriculum, may mean that it is not tailored to the needs of the industry makes it less likely for individuals to be hired by companies. There is a disconnect between how the younger generation is being geared to enter the tech industry and that gap is even greater for black, brown and mixed youth. It is time to support inclusion in tech and the C3 Initiative seeks help “unlock the STEM potential in the minds of underrepresented youth by one school district at a time.

The solution is to unlock the potential of black, brown and female tech workers of the future by targeting, exposing, immersing and engaging them in their youth now. The C3 initiative helps foster breakthrough experiences for minority youth by creating culturally relevant expositions. The C3 initiative strategically conducts community outreach by reaching out to the youth where they frequent whether that be at individual schools, school districts, or other community entities. The initiative plans to target organizations with high percentages of minority youth with programming like the C3 Expos and Project Riri.

The C3 Initiative hosts annual C3 Expos in strategic markets where youth can participate in a variety of hands-on coding experiences. The C3 Expo is a scenario-based robotics and coding camp where youth get to develop or test their new tech skills to accomplish the mission of the day. The C3 Expo was developed to promote the disciplines of coding to minority youth. At these events, children learn software engineering, hardware engineering, robotics and design. When children attend an expo they are able to grow coding skills by completing various comic book themed scenarios or ‘missions’ which in turn teaches the children that tech can be used to solve real world challenges. Through the gracious support of mentors and teams of volunteers minority youth are able to be immersed in software engineering, hardware engineering, programming, robotics, and design in order to solve the mission of the day. Children also learn coding languages such as Python, Arduino, Scratch.

The C3 Initiative plans to utilize Project Riri, named for Marvel superhero Riri Williams, is a groundbreaking educational video game designed to teach computer science (CS) and coding specifically to groups underserved by STEAM education and underrepresented in STEAM careers. The immersive, game- based, online learning platform will be driven by a storyline written by BIPOC community members. Completing the game leads students and teachers through a fully accredited Intro to CS course. Project Riri emphasizes that representation is important. Calling our coding course Project RiRi was no mistake, we teach kids how to code by using storytelling that depicts characters that look like them and we know that we are supporting gender equity in tech by getting girls to engage with engaging courses where a female character is the main character. 

The C3 initiative acts as a liaison between industry and minority youth who reside in the community. The initiative seeks to promote career readiness by working with tech companies to design relevant curriculum that meets tech industry standards while simultaneously exposing underrepresented youth to different areas of interest in tech..

The initiative uses community outreach cultural competency to prepare career readiness relevant to industry standards. The C3 initiative promotes the disciplines of coding to minority youth which will in turn help solve tech's lack of diversity problem and bridge the gaps that exist in the tech sector. It is not capability, it is about access. The C3 initiative helps promote access to minority youth.

Our solution predominantly serves  black, brown and female youth who reside in the Inland Empire which is composed of both Riverside and San Bernardino counties which are two large densely populated counties in the country's most populous state. There is potential to unlock the STEAM potential of over 927,000 minority youth who reside in this region.

The C3 expos are free to attend which eliminates socioeconomic barriers geared towards minority youth between the ages of 8 and 18. This impacts the lives of minority youth by lessening financial burdens of kids who come from families who feel that they cannot afford exposure to working tech space on the creator side of technology. The initiative provides minority youth with exposure to real life problems and how they relate to individuals themselves and their overall community. 

The way the solution works is essentially a Pipeline program that exposes minority youth to STEAM. Then identifies promising minority youth candidates to fill internship roles with tech companies by exposing them to learn how to use the tools and key concepts of working in technology.

 The C3 Initiative seeks to help close the education gap in STEM by utilizing programming like the C3 Mobile unit and Project Riri that will make STEM curriculum fun, engaging and culturally relevant to the underserved minority youth. The C3 Initiative understands the worlds’ most advanced life-saving technology could be trapped inside the mind of a child that currently does not have access to tech education or resources. That is why our organization develops programs that build and improve programming skills in minority youth who can one day solve the problems of the future if they have access to the education that can develop their skill set. The C3 Initiative exists to unlock the STEM potential in the minds of minority youth to solve the problems of tomorrow. 

Project Riri will be engaging and resonated with underrepresented youth because we tell the right stories to keep them motivated and inspired. The Project Riri curriculum will be Integrated into C3’s in-person programs like the C3 mobile unit that make visits to multiple local schools.

Minority youth are being identified to be afforded financial benefits once they are engaged by the C3 Initiative. Promising minority youth working on internship opportunities to provide pay and proper experience that is tailored to industry needs at its inception.

It will also provide the proper networking needed to gain access to work at tech companies to design tech make internships for the kids who show promise are invited to apply. The C3 Initiative helps companies recruit diverse candidates and provide them with direct training. The C3 initiative bridges the gaps that many minorities face when pursuing a career in tech.

The team directly targets, identifies and recruits minority youth to participate in immerse scenario based coding development programming. The team identifies schools with high populations of minority youth. The C3 initiative acts as a liaison between tech companies by not just exposing kids to learning code tech and problem solving skills, it also helps link promising youth to real positions in tech companies. The team helps show kids that there is more than just a traditional avenue to enter the tech workforce. 

The team reflects the target demographic that the team is serving. The programming that the team utilizes is culturally competent and the demographic that the programming is serving is reflected in the programs.

The C3 initiative team currently provides representation of different genders and ethnicities. All underrepresented groups served by the initiative are led by a 100% BIPOC team. The C3 initiative team plans to ensure a diverse team that reflects the target demographic that the initiative was created to serve.

The C3 initiative supports the needs of underserved minority youth who are creative, possess diverse ideas and willingness to learn. Our team works diligently to empower the community that we serve. We allow youth access to ways to funnel their creativity to solve actual problems by letting them tinker with story based scenarios that teach them how to code and design technology. Our unique approach reflects the strengths of the population that we are serving. That is why we have had success with programming like our C3 expos because our work resonates with the community. We meet them where they are at and guide them through exercises that encourage them to grow. The focus is on teaching minority youth problem solving in fun, innovative ways, as opposed to lecture-based encouraging learning from outside of a textbook. The C3 initiative is innovative as it prioritizes problem solving and not lesson learning.

A distinguishing factor is the immersion of scenario based learning. The C3 initiative engages minority youth in a whole story that unfolds and brings them into a life like scenario that includes a reward once the problem is solved. This is a way of learning that does not exist currently in traditional classroom settings. Tech is best taught in scenario based settings such as the ones the C3 initiative utilizes. As real world scenarios give pieces to use to learn how to solve problems. Minority youth are able to collect the knowledge they need to engage in different scenarios and missions they need to accomplish while being immersed in STEAM concepts. Kids work on actual problems that exist is way to arts innovation innovative model 

We are seeking funding to meet more youth where they are at as we are seeking support for Project Riri which help us reach underserved youth who could excel in STEM if they had access to STEM curriculum in their schools.

Approximately 720  youth have experienced a C3 EXPO. The C3 Initiative currently reaches 200 students per year via the annual expos. After the launch of Project Riri, we anticipate that we can reach a total of over 60,000 students and deliver over 260,000 blended online/offline educational hours from 2023-25. There is potential to unlock the STEAM potential of over 927,000 minority youth who reside in the Inland Empire region where the C3 Initiative is based.

The C3 currently runs 100% donations and although funding is crucial to our cause, we understand that expanding our network and access to expert in nonprofit sectors is vital to our success. Being granted access to this challenge's network of experts will help find a success to capture the impact that we seek to reach as we desire to unblock the potential 1 million youth. Our organization will help actualize the importance of give minority youth in STEAM equitable experiences by providing them with the curriculum that they need to meet the demands of tech industry standards.

We have established strategic relationships including with the city of Riverside, CA and a local school district that educates more than 40,000 students. 

The C3 initiative is innovative as it prioritizes problem solving and not lesson learning. The focus is on teaching minority youth problem solving in fun, innovative ways, as opposed to lecture based encourage learning from outside of a textbook.

A distinguishing factor is the immersion of scenario based learning. The C3 initiative engages minority youth in a whole story that unfolds and brings them into a life-like scenario that includes a reward once the problem is solved. This is a way of learning that does not exist currently in traditional classroom settings. Tech is best taught in scenario based settings such as the ones the C3 initiative utilizes. Learning from these real world scenarios gives the youth the tools that they can utilize to learn how to solve problems in the real world. Minority youth are able to collect the knowledge they need to engage in different scenarios and missions they need to accomplish while being immersed in STEAM concepts. Kids work on actual problems that exist in the real world and we teach them how to play around to find solutions.

Project Riri will be engaging and resonated with underrepresented youth because we tell the right stories to keep them motivated and inspired. The Project Riri curriculum will be Integrated into C3’s in-person programs like the C3 mobile unit that make visits to multiple local schools.

The C3 Initiative currently reaches 200 students per year via the annual expos. After the launch of Project Riri, we anticipate that we can reach a total of over 60,000 students and deliver over 260,000 blended online/offline educational hours from 2023-25. There is potential to unlock the STEAM potential of over 927,000 minority youth who reside in the Inland Empire region where the C3 Initiative is based. We plan to achieve this goal by working with our partnerships with tech organizations and local school districts. 

Approximately 720 youth have experienced a C3 EXPO.

The C3 Initiative currently reaches 200 students per year via the annual expos. After the launch of Project Riri, we anticipate that we can reach a total of over 60,000 students and deliver over 260,000 blended online/offline educational hours from 2023-25. There is potential to unlock the STEAM potential of over 927,000 minority youth who reside in the Inland Empire region where the C3 Initiative is based.

We are steadily making progress on our way to unlock the STEAM potential of underrepresented 1 million youth. However, we do recognize that measuring our success is still an area that we like support with from this challenge. We would like to track not solely the number of youth we make contact with but we would like to more thoroughly track how we are making an impact. We are currently developing an impact report that will include the number of kids identified as showing exceptional promise through tech and we are heavily focusing on how we help increase equity via gender and ethnic breakdowns for youth who have an interest in STEM. For example, we would like to be able to regularly report how many youth we can flannel through our programs and how many of them become interns at organizations or even how many of them develop their own companies. 

The solution is to unlock the potential of black, brown and female tech workers of the future by targeting, exposing, immersing and engaging them in their youth now. The C3 initiative helps foster breakthrough experiences for minority youth by creating culturally relevant expositions. The C3 initiative strategically conducts community outreach by reaching out to the youth where they frequent whether that be at individual schools, school districts, or other community entities. The initiative plans to target organizations with high percentages of minority youth with programming like the C3 Expos and Project Riri.

The C3 Initiative hosts annual C3 Expos in strategic markets where youth can participate in a variety of hands-on coding experiences. The C3 Expo is a scenario-based robotics and coding camp where youth get to develop or test their new tech skills to accomplish the mission of the day. The C3 Expo was developed to promote the disciplines of coding to minority youth. At these events, children learn software engineering, hardware engineering, robotics and design. When children attend an expo they are able to grow coding skills by completing various comic book themed scenarios or ‘missions’ which in turn teaches the children that tech can be used to solve real world challenges. Through the gracious support of mentors and teams of volunteers minority youth are able to be immersed in software engineering, hardware engineering, programming, robotics, and design in order to solve the mission of the day. Children also learn coding languages such as Python, Arduino, Scratch.

The C3 Initiative plans to utilize Project Riri, named for Marvel superhero Riri Williams, is a groundbreaking educational video game designed to teach computer science (CS) and coding specifically to groups underserved by STEAM education and underrepresented in STEAM careers. The immersive, game- based, online learning platform will be driven by a storyline written by BIPOC community members. Completing the game leads students and teachers through a fully accredited Intro to CS course. Project Riri emphasizes that representation is important. Calling our coding course Project RiRi was no mistake, we teach kids how to code by using storytelling that depicts characters that look like them and we know that we are supporting gender equity in tech by getting girls to engage with engaging courses where a female character is the main character. 

The C3 initiative acts as a liaison between industry and minority youth who reside in the community. The initiative seeks to promote career readiness by working with tech companies to design relevant curriculum that meets tech industry standards while simultaneously exposing underrepresented youth to different areas of interest in tech..

The initiative uses community outreach cultural competency to prepare career readiness relevant to industry standards. The C3 initiative promotes the disciplines of coding to minority youth which will in turn help solve tech's lack of diversity problem and bridge the gaps that exist in the tech sector. It is not capability, it is about access. The C3 initiative helps promote access to minority youth.

Our solutions utilizes software like AI robots, drones, and blockchain. 

We also utilize coding languages like Python, Arduino, and Scratch

We currently have  on full time staff. When we have an active event we hire four additional part time staff to help provide coverage.

We utilize educators for training and teaching. We have one full time staff in this category but when we have an active events we hire 3 part time staff to provide more coverage.

The C3 Initiative is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with 8 years of experience delivering immersive story-based educational events for minority youth. We have been working on solutions to unlock the STEM potential in underrepresented minorities since 2014, but formally became a 501(c)(3) organization in October 2019.

Diversity is not a metric, it is a mindset. Providing diverse candidates with exposure to STEAM helps increase perspectives that are needed to solve real world problems in the tech industry. Due to the lack of diversity in the tech sector, diverse perspectives are underutilized in the field. 

We target, identify and recruit minority youth to work in tech by strengthening skill sets that are sought after by tech companies. We provide equity by assisting underrepresented youth with being placed in proximity to tech concepts and actual tech companies that would like to hire them. We provide these services free of charge. We help include children from marginalized backgrounds to engage with and become excited about working in STEAM.

The C3 Initiative works to develop culturally competent programming like Project Riri because we believe that our work should emphasize the representation we want to see in the real world. Calling our coding course Project RiRi was no mistake, we teach kids how to code by using storytelling that depicts characters that look like them and we know that we are supporting gender equity in tech by getting girls to engage with engaging courses where a female character can play a pivotal role. This would help bring equity to tech by allowing young girls to see that they belong in the field and have the power to create innovative change like Riri does.

The C3 Initiative team works to meet the needs of companies in the industry by identifying and recruiting diverse talent. The team simultaneously engages children through storytelling and teaches tech concepts in terms that children can understand. As we grow we plan to ensure that we maintain a representation that reflects the population we serve.

The C3 teams provide enriching programming to promote tech skill sets to minority youth for free in a variety of ways such as the C3 Expo, Project Riri and the C3 Mobile Unit. The initiative has been largely funded by donations from tech companies and other organizations who have committed to investing in making the industry more inclusive. The organization helps identify diverse candidates who the corporations say they want .

The C3 initiative acts as a liaison between industry and minority youth who reside in the community. The initiative seeks to promote career readiness by working with tech companies to design relevant curriculum that meets tech industry standards while simultaneously exposing underrepresented youth to different areas of interest in tech. After children attend an expo the promising attendees are identified and put on track geared towards working in tech. They are offered internships by tech companies that provide further training and paid compensation. This impacts minority youth by making it possible to allow them to pursue a career in tech as opposed to finding jobs that allow them to get by day by day.The C3 Initiative helps prepare underrepresented youth in STEM to be ready to enter the workforce by offering career readiness experience equipped with relevant experience to address tackle and solve the problems in their fields of interest.

The C3 Initiative hosts annual C3 Expos in strategic markets where youth can participate in a variety of hands-on coding experiences. The C3 Expo is a scenario-based robotics and coding camp where youth get to develop or test their new tech skills to accomplish the mission of the day. The C3 Expo was developed to promote the disciplines of coding to minority youth. At these events, children learn software engineering, hardware engineering, robotics and design.

The C3 Initiative is working to launch a program called ‘Project Riri’, named for Marvel superhero Riri Williams. This will be a groundbreaking educational video game designed to teach computer science (CS) and coding specifically to groups underserved by STEAM education and underrepresented in STEAM careers. The immersive, game- based, online learning platform will be driven by a storyline written by BIPOC community members. Completing the game leads students and teachers through a fully accredited Intro to CS course.

The C3 Initiative plans to use the C3 Mobile Unit (CMU), a mobile STEAM camp that brings the C3 experience of programs like Project Riri to youth all around the country. The CMU will travel to schools, events and conferences to give youth a learning experience like no other.

The C3 currently runs 100% donations and funding is crucial to our cause. The C3 Initiative has been fortunate to have several corporate partnerships and some individual donors to help support our events. Being granted access to additional funding from this challenge can help us find a success to capture the impact that we seek to reach more than 1 million youth because it can help support the programming that will be used at our events. It will help actualize the importance of including minority youth in STEAM by further aiding in the fine tuning of the curriculum programming needs and demand for kids who meet tech industry standards

To acquire long term funding, we are proposing to offer Project RiRi only the first 30 levels of a curriculum to schools for free. A premium level of the curriculum of levels beyond level 30 could be purchased by organizations and C3 could get the conversion of those deals. This is an example of how the C3 Initiative plans to be more sustainable and secure long term funding in the near future.

We have been successful by developing relations with  several corporate partners who have sponsored our programming. We have also had some successful fundraising campaigns from private donors and grants that have helped to keep our organization afloat.