Military Coding Bootcamp Supporters Raise $76,295 for Veteran and Military Spouse Scholarship Funds

Code Platoon celebrated seven years of success helping Veterans launch their tech careers with the Celebrate Code Platoon 2023 fundraising event. One hundred and twenty-five sponsors, supporters, and alums raised $76,295 for military coding scholarships during the celebration at Artifact Events on September 21, 2023.

The program began with a spotlight on the diversity of skills developed in the military. Code Platoon’s Veteran and Servicemember graduates have served as rescue divers, bridge builders, intelligence analysts, blood lab technicians, linguists, aircraft mechanics, and even musicians. Code Platoon alums not only have their technical knowledge from Coding Bootcamp. They also bring the diversity of their military experience to their future employers.

Rodrigo Levy, Code Platoon’s Founder and Executive Director, shared the successes and challenges of 2023. Code Platoon has graduated almost 500 students from our military coding bootcamps in the last seven years. Seventy-four percent of these graduates landed tech jobs within six months, with a median starting salary of $85,000. After two years in tech, our graduates earn a median salary of $115,000.

But 2023 was also challenging. The VA’s VET TEC program funds were depleted in April, leaving many Veterans unable to pay for their needed training.

Code Platoon met this challenge thanks to the support of the corporate partners and donors who contributed to our Veteran scholarship funds. Code Platoon has awarded 1.3 million dollars in scholarships in the last two years. The average awarded scholarship was $16,500, covering 92% of a Veteran’s tuition. 

Code Platoon recognized our 2023 Partner of the Year: 8th Light. 8th Light has demonstrated exceptional dedication to our mission through financial support, job placements, and volunteer contributions. Learn more about 8th Light’s partnership with Code Platoon in the Partner of the Year video.

Celebrate Code Platoon 2023 was made possible by our event sponsors: Enova, Chicago Trading Company, DRW, Caesars Entertainment, JPMorgan Chase, Hyde Park Venture Partners, Raise, and 8th Light. These sponsors, our guests, and an anonymous donor who matched the evening’s donations raised over $76,295 to help more Veterans and military spouses start new tech careers.

Two Veterans who launched software engineering careers with Code Platoon also spoke as part of the Celebrate program. 

Joshua moved from the Philippines to the United States when he was nine. He couldn’t afford to pursue a college degree; so he enlisted in the Army for more opportunities. Joshua was accepted to Code Platoon’s Tango cohort via the DoD SkillBridge program. He earned a spot in Accenture’s software engineering apprenticeship program after graduation.

Megan hoped to work in IT when she enlisted in the Navy, but she was assigned an electronics technician role instead. Megan joined Code Platoon’s Quebec cohort six years later to pursue her software development dreams. She graduated with a software engineering apprenticeship at DRW, where she is now a full-time software developer.

Celebrate Code Platoon was a success, but we still need your help to train 500 more Veterans, Servicemembers, and military spouses in the next three years. You can make a tax-deductible contribution to the Celebrate Code Platoon scholarship fund by visiting our event donation page.