SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — Microsoft Philanthropies has invested $500,000 in the Syracuse Surge program, Mayor Walsh and CenterState CEO have announced. The money, according to Walsh and CenterState CEO, is a Skills for Jobs and Livelihoods grant and will “help foster digital literacy, support entrepreneurship, small businesses, and workforce training for digital industries.”
Programs funded by the grant will focus on marginalized groups in technology, such as communities of color, women, and low-income neighborhoods.
“This is public-private collaboration at its very best… I am deeply grateful to Microsoft for its early and consistent commitment to the Syracuse Surge and to the people of the City of Syracuse,” said Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh.
The Syracuse Surge initiative, Mayor Walsh and CenterState CEO say, will foster digital equity by helping CNY residents increase their digital skills, as well as gain access to careers in technology and software-related fields.
“Through this investment we can advance the intentional strategies and collaborative initiatives needed to ensure more members of our community have access to opportunities in a competitive digital economy,” said CenterState CEO President Robert Simpson.
