This piece is shared as part of Pledge 1%’s #GivingTuesdayNow campaign, which highlights how Pledge 1% members and the business community are coming together as a force for good to combat COVID-19.
Originally posted on Pluralsight.com
The COVID-19 pandemic has put new pressures on the way we live, learn and take care of one another. We’re social distancing, we’re caring for the sick, we’re doing our best to stay safe and healthy and flatten the curve. And that looks different for each and every one of us.
For vulnerable communities across the globe, this health crisis is compounding the crises already taking place
Refugees and displaced people have been experiencing one of the greatest and most challenging disruptions to everyday life long before COVID-19 turned our world on its head. But for many people who are displaced and living in densely populated camps or fleeing from home, the number one recommendation—social distancing—is often impossible. There’s an overwhelming lack of sufficient water and sanitation resources. Healthcare systems are insufficient and stressed. Xenophobia is on the rise and armed conflicts are forcing people to flee, inhibiting their ability to shelter in place.
Our students are trying to learn under new, challenging circumstances. According to a recent UNESCO report, 91% of the world’s students are experiencing disruptions in learning. Across the globe, girls have already been fighting for the right to education, a fight that has gotten that much harder with COVID-19 introducing new barriers to education. With sweeping school closures, teachers are pivoting their lesson plans quickly to accommodate distance learning. Devices and connectivity aren’t universally available which increases inequality in education. Computer science, an elective at most schools, is on the chopping block.
Unemployment rates have reached unprecedented numbers, with the crisis disproportionately impacting low-income families and people of color. With housing, food, connectivity and device security at risk, these communities are struggling to stay afloat.
Now more than ever, we must demonstrate our love of humanity
Pluralsight One’s commitment has always been to drive significant, lasting social impact by supporting our vulnerable communities, improving equal access to technology skills and investing in catalytic solutions. We believe this focus is more important today than ever before.
To help support our communities throughout this crisis, we’re granting $1.25M to support Pluralsight One’s nonprofit partners and bolster regional COVID-19 emergency responses in the communities where we live and work. We are providing nimble capital to our partners in support of tech-enabled health and education aid locally and globally with a focus on the most vulnerable populations. In addition, we have expanded our product solutions for nonprofits, teachers and students to ensure they can build the skills they need at this critical time.
How we’re deploying funds through Pluralsight One to help our partners weather this crisis
$250,000 grant to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)
In addition to our already scheduled 2020 grant of $250,000, we’re issuing immediate additional funding to NRC to enable the development and deployment of digital and tech-enabled field-based solutions to support their global COVID-19 response. This will help prevent the spread in camp settings, enable teams to create digital solutions that serve the most vulnerable and focus resources on flattening the curve while maintaining critical, life-saving programs and services.
$300,000 grant to Malala Fund
This grant will span two years and support the work of five champions across Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan who are focused on developing and implementing tech-enabled solutions to girls’ education and responding to immediate community needs during the COVID-19 crisis.
$250,000 grant to the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA)
Computer science is marginalized in K-12 schools nationwide, and as a result, it’s at heightened risk of being cut during school closures. Pluralsight One is supporting the development and implementation of digital resources for teachers with a focus on equity and inclusion. This support will:
- Help develop teacher resources that enable learning continuity during COVID-19
- Scale the CSTA Equity Fellowship to grow and establish an active Equity Fellow Alumni network
- Continue to build capacity and sustain CSTA’s chaptersDevelop rigorous professional development that grows the number of English language learner students enrolled in AP computer science
To support students and teachers during this time, we’ve also published a list of helpful resources to keep our students engaged and learning.
$250,000 grant to Year Up
Pluralsight One is supporting Year Up’s COVID-19 Emergency Fund, which enables learning continuity for program participants, interns and alumni. It also supports the organization’s work to assess and address evolving student hardship needs, ensure program continuity for current participants (including providing access to connectivity and laptops for students to operate virtually) and responding to youths’ urgent health and financial needs.
$200,000 to regional COVID-19 Emergency Funds
Pluralsight One is supporting the COVID-19 response in communities where our team members live and work through grants of $50,000 each to the Utah COVID Fund, Boston COVID Fund, Ireland Community Foundation’s COVID Fund and UN/WHO COVID Fund.
We’re all in this together
We remain committed to our partners and invested in their work and resilience. We are grateful for their expertise and tenacity in the face of challenging times and applaud the courage with which they are operating to provide life-saving programs and services at this critical time.
We have also built a set of free resources for nonprofits, teachers and students to help with learning continuity and tech skills development. Nonprofits can access Pluralsight One’s full suite of products at a deep discount or test out Pluralsight One’s Amplify solution with a 30-day free trial. That includes 7,000+ expert-led courses and advanced skills analytics to help you measure impact and progress. All educators who are CSTA members get free access to 30+ computer science courses that are mapped to national exams and aligned with CS curriculum. And high school students around the world can get free access to over 500 hours of Pluralsight courses to continue their studies and build the critical tech skills needed to land a great job. Learn what’s available and sign up for free access here.
If you’d like to get involved in Pluralsight One’s COVID-19 response efforts, please donate here or email impact@pluralsightone.org.
