Empowering Southern Missouri Youth with Future-Ready Skills - A Call to Support the Youth Coding League through the Youth Opportunities Program

March 12, 2024

It’s a great day at Codefi HQ when we get to see more bright young minds gaining access to coding and computer skills, thanks to Alan Wire’s¹ recent investment through a Youth Opportunities Program² donation.

Alan Wire has been an integral part of Sikeston’s economy for years, keeping manufacturing local to the bootheel. Their belief in rolling up their sleeves and taking care of their customers extends beyond the doors of their Sikeston facility, a philosophy instilled by company founder Alan Keenan. Keenan initiated a local high school program, Next Step,³ over five years ago, employing Sikeston high school students part-time at Alan Wire while teaching professional skills and career readiness. Alan Wire extended their work with their local community past high school aged young adults, partnering with Code Labs in 2021 to provide adult learners with hands-on software development experience as an employer offering a capstone project. In February, Keenan opened Center Street Station, Sikeston’s first coworking space, giving small businesses a physical infrastructure where they can grow and succeed.

Alan Wire’s latest investment in the future takes their ongoing community support to a younger generation. Their donation will fund Youth Coding League⁴ teams in rural communities throughout Southern Missouri, an area characterized by poverty rates 4.96% higher and median household incomes 15% lower than state averages. 

With recent legislative changes mandating coding curriculum implementation in Missouri schools, the Youth Coding League addresses this gap by providing simple-to-implement structure and support to schools struggling due to financial constraints and staff knowledge limitations. The program aims to bridge the opportunity gap, particularly in counties facing persistent poverty, declining populations, and limited access to higher education by introducing coding and computer science skills to 10-14 year olds at schools, libraries, and other community organizations. The Youth Coding League has been rolling out coding skills for 5th-8th graders to rural communities since 2018.

Codefi still has $150,000 in 50% tax credits to deploy and many more interested schools and community organizations to serve. You can play a part in creating a better community for everyone by way of supporting the Youth Coding League, which pays teachers to serve as coaches and teaches 10-14 year-olds of all ability levels computer science using a curriculum developed specifically for rural communities. Stacy Dohogne Lane can help you utilize the 50% Youth Opportunity Program tax credits and be a significant part of this critically important work.

About the Youth Coding League

The Youth Coding League is a competitive, fully-packaged team sport designed to teach all middle school and junior high students how to code and set them on a path to the highest-paying occupations in the world.

About the Youth Opportunities Program

The purpose of the Youth Opportunities Program is to broaden and strengthen opportunities for positive development and participation in community life for youth.

About Alan Wire

Alan Wire has proudly served and supplied the electrical community as a dependable manufacturer of high-quality wire and cable products for over 40 years. Based in Sikeston, Missouri, Alan Wire offers copper and aluminum 600 volt wire and cable products for the commercial, industrial and utility markets.