During these difficult times, we are especially grateful for our Genesys Works community.

We believe it’s more important than ever to uphold our mission by maintaining our support of our young professionals and to prioritize the health and safety of our students, partners, staff, and the Bay Area community. As a member of the Genesys Works community, we want to keep you apprised of our team’s recent efforts:

Social Distancing 

Per public health and governmental recommendations, the Genesys Works team has been working remotely to contribute to the safety and health of the Bay Area community. To that end, we were thrilled with many of our corporate partners’ immediate response to embrace a “work-from-home” option for our young professionals. We are so grateful to partner with workplace supervisors in creating unique ways for our students to continue gaining valuable skills and earnings that they and their families rely on.

Prioritization of Relationships

We highly value our partnerships with companies, donors, high schools, colleges and universities, and other community organizations. Thus, we first and foremost opted for personalized communications with each of these stakeholder groups and individuals. Each of our program participants continues to receive personalized support from their respective program coordinator.

Curriculum Development

While some students are able to continue their technology roles remotely, students with hands-on roles are unable to complete their regularly assigned tasks. Our team has swiftly developed an exciting new curriculum to continue developing students’ professional and technical skills sets while they await their return to work.

Summer Training

As we look toward our summer training for Cohort 8 – the Class of 2021 – we are creating plans to deliver training remotely if necessary. With the help of some of our dedicated partners, we will develop methods to virtually teach both our technical and soft skills curriculum, ensuring both a safe and engaging experience for our newest cohort of young professionals.

Event Updates

Our Breaking Through ceremony, originally scheduled for April 29, has been rescheduled for August 4. We are so looking forward to celebrating with you all later this summer!

We know that hourly workers and low-income communities will face a disproportionate impact from COVID-19 because of a lack of paid sick time and a safety net of resources.

While many Genesys Works interns are adapting to working remotely in their internships, others are waiting to be called back to work when the crisis passes. With 86% of our Bay Area students eligible for free or reduced lunch, a sudden loss of income can be an insurmountable challenge for them and their families.

We need your help to lessen the impact of COVID-19 on our Bay Area young professionals. Your gift will help ensure that young people receive the support and resources they need, now more than ever.

Right now, every day counts.

Spring remains a busy time for our program – college acceptances are rolling in, and scholarship applications are being finalized. Your generosity will help ensure that our young professionals continue to receive support through digital College-Career-Connection (CCC) sessions, as well as phone and video check-ins with staff to ensure they are receiving the support and guidance they need in these uncertain times.

While their health and safety remain our top priority, our mission of providing pathways to career success is more important than ever. Thank you for your support of the young people we serve.

Sahaar Rezaie

Executive Director, Genesys Works Bay Area