Amazon’s donation of $3.9 million to CodeVA through 2022 supports the state’s goal of offering computer science education and training to every high-needs school in the state of Virginia. More than 700 schools that may otherwise lack access, training, or funding, will benefit from the Amazon Future Engineer donation.

CodeVA is a statewide nonprofit with a mission of expanding access to computer science for all students and improving literacy across the Commonwealth.

"CodeVA is an innovative, respected, and results-driven nonprofit in our new home of Virginia," said Ardine Williams, Amazon VP of worldwide HR, operations. "We are confident that this donation will help the Commonwealth train more students from underserved communities and prepare our future Virginia workforce to be ready for exciting technology careers at Amazon and beyond. In this time of countless unknowns, we applaud CodeVA's ability to quickly change gears, and transition to providing hardworking students, teachers, and families what they need right now to stay on track and to stay focused day to day."

A woman on a laptop computer, working from home
Virginia’s First Lady, Pamela Northam, making the announcement of Amazon’s donation to CodeVA during a virtual visit to Code RVA Regional High School students.
A woman on a laptop computer, working from home
CodeRVA student Kaylie Nichols, winner of CodeVA’s recent CS In Your Neighborhood competition, presenting her winning computer science project.
A woman on a laptop computer, working from home
Ardine Williams, vice president of workforce development, HQ2 at Amazon, answering questions from Code RVA Regional High School.

To accommodate at-home learning in response to COVID-19, CodeVA quickly developed virtual programming for students, teachers, and families learning from home; started conducting live, online code-along events, including free bi-weekly AP computer science exam prep sessions; shifted dozens of teacher training opportunities from in-person to online; and developed unplugged and offline computer science education resources, including Snail Mail CS, for students with lower internet connectivity and for families who want students spending less time on screens.

Amazon is committed to bringing more resources to children and young adults so they can build their best future. Amazon has invested more than $50 million to increase access to computer science and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education and has donated more than $20 million to organizations that promote computer science/STEM education across the country. Amazon’s primary computer science access program, Amazon Future Engineer, is a four-part childhood-to-career program intended to inspire, educate, and prepare children and young adults from underrepresented and underserved communities to try computer science.

Amazon Future Engineer is supporting students of all ages and high school AP computer science students amid the COVID-19 pandemic with free, online curriculum. Learn more about how Amazon is supporting its communities, partners, customers, and employees amid the COVID-19 pandemic.