UScellular Donates $100K to YWCA USA to Advance STEAM Educational Opportunities

Wireless carrier and nonprofit renew partnership, commit to create TechGYRLS digital curriculum

CHICAGO (Sept. 19, 2023) – UScellular is partnering with YWCA USA to update their TechGYRLS® Curriculum for a planned launch in 2024.  The company announced a $100,000 grant today to support the update to the curriculum that will help to reach more young women and encourage careers in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math).YWCA is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. Launched in 2003, YWCA TechGYRLS was created to support economic empowerment for underserved girls through a combination of technology and community involvement. The program offers students a chance to learn and practice their critical-thinking skills using solutions that will help deepen young girls’ interest in STEAM subjects and STEAM-related careers.By January 2024, UScellular’s donation will modernize and help transition the TechGYRLS Curriculum from a physical format to YWCA University, an e-learning and online platform that will be accessible to all YWCA youth members.“By helping YWCA shift the TechGYRLS Curriculum to a digital format, UScellular is helping connect more youth to valuable educational resources,” said Kevin Lowell, executive vice president, chief people officer and head of communications at UScellular. “We hope this encourages YWCA members to explore careers within STEAM fields and increase the much-needed representation of women in tech.”“We are thrilled to once again partner with UScellular to empower and advocate for the economic development of students in the communities we serve,” said Margaret Mitchell, YWCA USA CEO. “The modernization of our TechGYRLS Curriculum will create new educational pathways for families and further develop their knowledge of STEAM for the future, empowering those we serve and increasing equity in communities across the country.”This is the second year that UScellular and YWCA have partnered to increase the educational and digital access for youth. Last year, UScellular donated $4.7M in hotspots and two years of wireless service to 17 local YWCAs across the country to help the nonprofit bridge the “homework gap” for its students.Since 2009, UScellular has invested more than $35 million in monetary donations, technology resources and countless experiences to nonprofit organizations across the country. For more information about UScellular’s corporate social responsibility initiatives, please go to https://newsroom.uscellular.com/community/.About UScellularUScellular is the fourth-largest full-service wireless carrier in the United States, providing national network coverage and industry-leading innovations designed to help customers stay connected to the things that matter most. The Chicago-based carrier provides a strong, reliable network supported by the latest technology and offers a wide range of communication services that enhance consumers’ lives, increase the competitiveness of local businesses and improve the efficiency of government operations. Through its After School Access Project, the company has pledged to provide hotspots and service to help up to 50,000 youth connect to reliable internet. Additionally, UScellular has price protected all of its plans, promising not to increase prices through at least the end of 2024. To learn more about UScellular, visit one of its retail stores or www.uscellular.com. To get the latest news, visit newsroom.uscellular.com.

About YWCA USA

YWCA USA is on a mission to eliminate racism, empower women, stand up for social justice, help families, and strengthen communities. We are one of the oldest and largest women’s organizations in the nation, serving approximately 2 million women, girls, and their families.YWCA has been at the forefront of the most pressing social movements for more than 160 years — from voting rights to civil rights, from affordable housing to pay equity, from violence prevention to health care reform. Today, we combine programming and advocacy in order to generate institutional change in three key areas: racial justice and civil rights, empowerment and economic advancement of women and girls, and health and safety of women and girls.For more information, visit ywca.org.