3 Free Resources That Can Transform Your Community During These Tough Times

Over the past 12 years, I've been committed to changing lives and inspiring young minds in underrepresented communities. Over this period of time, I've noticed that improvements in three key areas lead to significant positive transformation in these communities. For our young people, it's improvements in mathematics and access to learning computer science and for adults, it's investing. If we can provide a stronger foundation in math and make learning computer science as important as learning to read and write we will ensure that our youth is prepared for the jobs of the future. During these tough times instead of binge-watching Netflix I encourage you to leverage the free resources below in math, coding and investing to help better prepare your family and community for the future!

Math

MIND Research Institute's mission is to ensure that all students are mathematically equipped to solve the world’s most challenging problems. You can access their award-winning, patented ST Math approach for your use at home - FREE through June 30, 2020. ST Math is a web-based visual instructional program that leads to deep conceptual understanding of math.

Parents: MIND Research Institute is offering no-cost access to ST Math for parents, schools, and districts. The offer is available for grades K through 8 so the learning can keep on happening, even if school is temporarily closed. Students can access ST Math using a PC, Mac, laptop, or tablet running the latest version of Chrome. Please use this link for free access.

Bonus tip: If you are "not a math person" and struggle to assist your children with their math homework you can leverage this free access to improve your own skills and learn ahead a grade or two so that you can better support your children's math journey next school year.

Schools and Districts: If you are an administrator whose school or district is affected by COVID-19 closures but does not use ST Math, you can set your school or district up with free access to the award-winning ST Math program so your students can have meaningful learning experiences at home. Please use this link to fill out the request form. 

Coding

Code.org is a nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to computer science in schools and increasing participation by women and underrepresented youth. Their vision is that every student in every school has the opportunity to learn computer science. Your child can explore Dance Party where they will learn to Code a Dance Party to share with their friends. Featuring Katy Perry, Shawn Mendes, Panic! At The Disco, Lil Nas X, Jonas Brothers, Nicki Minaj, and 34 more! They might also enjoy AI for Oceans where they will learn Learn about artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, training data, and bias, while exploring ethical issues and how AI can be used to address world problems.

In addition to the hundreds of free coding activities, they announced Code Break, a live weekly webcast where they will teach your children computer science at home while school is closed, and will launch a weekly challenge to engage students of all abilities, even those without computers. The first webinar is next Wednesday, March 25! Sign up to receive updates at Code.org/break!

Investing

The Robinhood app has a great referral offer. A free stock is waiting for you! As a beginner investor, I started by studying the free stock that I received and learning for 2 weeks before I invested my own money. I started with conservative investments and then a few months later I started taking more educated risks as I was more comfortable with the app and my research.

Join Robinhood and we'll both get a free stock like Apple, Ford, or Facebook for free. Sign up with my link: https://join.robinhood.com/jayf206 and start learning as I did.

No catch. You can start investing with as little as $1 and learn by studying the free stock they give you. Or you can set a monthly goal as I did. Let me know if you have any questions or if I can help you set a goal for 2020!

Bonus Tip: Top 5 Investments From my First Year of Investing