Code Platoon receives Newman’s Own Award
Chicago, Illinois – October 5, 2018 – Code Platoon, a nonprofit working to transform Chicagoland veterans and military spouses into professional software developers through an immersive, educational bootcamp, and mentorship program today announced it has received a Newman’s Own Award and grant for $37,500 USD. This award is given through a partnership with Fisher House Foundation, Military Times, and Newman’s Own Foundation.
Presented in the Hall of Heroes at The Pentagon, the Newman’s Own Award seeks to recognize non-profit organizations for their innovative programs that improve military and veterans quality of life. Just under 300 entries were submitted for the 2018 program. This prestigious award was presented by General Joseph Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Jeffrey Smith, Vice President of Operations of Newman’s Own, Inc.; Dave Coker, President of Fisher House Foundation; and Andrew Tilghman, Executive Editor of Military Times.
“Code Platoon is honored to be recognized as a leader in helping our nation’s veterans and military families. This award is an incredible acknowledgement of our commitment to our nation’s greatest national treasure. Our team is inspired to grow our program to serve more veterans and military spouses, providing access to career opportunities in software development.” said Rodrigo Levy, founder and executive director of Code Platoon.
“We are grateful to the men and women of our military, veterans, and their families for their commitment to protecting the freedoms and opportunities we enjoy as Americans,” said Bob Forrester, Co-Chairman of Newman’s Own, Inc. and President and CEO of Newman’s Own Foundation. “We’re proud to have participated for the past 19 years with the Military Times and Fisher House Foundation in recognizing so many outstanding organizations focused on helping our veterans and their families, and we’re especially proud to support this year’s award recipients.”
About the Newman’s Own Foundation
As a long-time supporter of military non-profits, Newman’s Own carries on the legacy of Paul Newman, founder of Newman’s Own, who wanted to help make a difference in the lives of others. Paul, a Navy veteran, served in the Pacific during World War II. Over the years, Newman’s Own Awards has provided funding for organizations across the country, which have addressed veterans’ issues such as mental and physical health, housing, education, career development, entrepreneurship, family support.
About Code Platoon
Based in Chicago, Illinois, Code Platoon provides software coding training to help local veterans and military spouses find meaningful careers as professional software developers. While some veterans and military spouses do have four year degrees, the only requirements of enrollment are a deep desire to become a professional software developer, a positive work ethic, and a tremendous amount of tenacity. Each student is eligible to receive a scholarship that covers about 80% of their tuition making this career path affordable and attainable. Code Platoon also offers extra scholarships to women veterans who join the bootcamp as they are historically underrepresented in technology based careers. Students can also use their GI Bill® benefits to complete our program. The program consists of 8-12 students per class who spend 60-80 hours a week together for 15 weeks. Students are taught the Python and Ruby on Rails technology stacks, which are increasingly popular in the software development field. Instruction is a carefully curated mix of lectures, advanced coding training, and team projects, frequently culminating in a local paid internship.
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