The Grow with Google (GwG)/Ujima Project challenged six NDIA affiliates to activate GwG trainings, tools, and resources to upskill Black jobseekers and students in their communities.
Grow with Google is an initiative through which Google partners with organizations to provide digital literacy workshops and one-on-one coaching. The six Ujima Project grantees received funding to provide Grow with Google trainings to over 200 community members, despite in-person events being affected by COVID-19 restrictions. Further, all grantees have plans to continue to access and use GwG resources in their training.
Popular resources included: “Basics + Gmail & Meet,” “Using Gmail and Google Forms,” “Using Digital Tools for Everyday Tasks,” and “Using Google to Get a New Job.”
Highlights of the grantees’ work include:
Ashbury Senior Computer Community Center (ASC3), Cleveland, OH: ASC3 reported an increase in participants’ confidence using technology and the Google platform to communicate with others, create and attend virtual meetings, and manage calendars. Alumni of the training programs are now training others. One student became a digital navigator after the training to assist new ASC3 community members.- Boys & Girls Clubs of North Alabama, Huntsville, AL (BGCNAL): As a result of their work to train others on GwG resources, the BGCNAL are now viewed as a digital inclusion community leader. They empowered staff and parents through digital literacy skills training. They are also offering one-on-one tech office hours.
- Central San Diego Black Chamber of Commerce, San Diego, CA: The Chamber provided in-person training to help community members run businesses more efficiently and provided assistance for members to apply for relief funds. They plan to continue to use the GwG suite to teach basic computer skills to local small business owners.
- Libraries Without Borders US, Washington, DC: LWB conducted a class on “GwG: Preventing Online Scams,” which will be available on social media and on Instagram. They partnered with a local church to host GwG trainings focusing on workforce development training for their community members.
- Mission: Ignite Powered by Computers for Children, Inc., Buffalo, NY: Mission: Ignite worked with a local college to deliver training on GwG tools and resources and has added the GwG training platform to their digital literacy training program.
- She Built This City, Charlotte, NC: They conducted GwG digital literacy training in conjunction with trades training and provided free Chromebooks to participants, allowing them to use their knowledge immediately and going forward. They have added the GwG training as a permanent part of their trades training. In partnership with the county health department, they plan to offer a modified version of the training to 40 African American churches.
Kasi's Story
(Pictured left) One of the participants of She Built This City, Kasi, accepted an online position with Electrolux in their dishwasher department. She used her plumbing knowledge, digital navigation skills, and the Chromebook to get a job that allows her to work from home and care for her young son. That is the kind of impact they envisioned when She Built This City combined trades training and digital equity components – eliminating barriers so that women of color have more options to support their families.
We encourage you to sign up for the Grow with Google Partner Program – it’s easy and free.
Special thanks to Ashbury Community Computer Center and She Built This City for the pictures provided.