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Riot Games and I CAN Foundation by SoLA Impact have opened a technology and gaming hub in penniless South Los Angeles.
It’s an example of doing good in your own backyard, and it was made possible with a social impact contribution of more than $2 million from Riot Gamesthe Los Angeles-based creator of League of Legends and Valorant.
The 14,000-square-foot technology and gaming center will provide free educational instruction to the South Los Angeles community, Sherri Francois, SoLa Impact’s Chief Impact Officer and Executive Director of the SoLa I CAN Foundation, said in an interview with GamesBeat.
It all started with a pitch the group made in 2018. Last year they met Riot Games founders Marc Merrill and Brandon Beck, which led to the donation to the nonprofit group.
“We started having conversations around South LA’s incredible tech desert, talking to schools, parents, students and the community about the need to provide engineering programming and engineering education,” Francois said. “The need for technical training was so great that we thought we had commercial space, we know we can align with great partners. We should build a technical center. It was honestly that simple.”
Francois said the nonprofit started talking to potential partners, and the conversation with Riot Games clicked immediately as the company “responded in a nanosecond.”
“The fact that their social impact is driven by so much of what we stand for and believe in, that it was a natural marriage. And so we were really excited about the partnership when we heard they were going to support us. Not only were they willing to help build this from a monetary perspective, but they also wanted more meaning. They wanted to be sure that they would provide additional support in any capacity. Rioters were here last week and worked with the kids and were very hands-on with the kids.
Jeff Burrell, head of social impact, said in an interview with GamesBeat that the company and the nonprofit had a pilot program last year to develop tech kids tech and entrepreneurial skills. The results were good and the team started sharing more ideas about the vision and how Riot could support it.
“Late last year, we announced our $2.25 million commitment to expand the centers. And so it’s been wild that they’ve been able to fully build out the entrepreneurship center and the game lab and the esports arena,” said Burrell. means to everyone in South Central Los Angeles.”
The aim is to improve the lives of residents and break the cycle of intergenerational poverty by providing opportunities for education and economic mobility. Yesterday, the group held its grand opening for the technology and esports center on SoLa’s Beehive campus. The center aims to inspire and develop the next generation of Black and Brown game developers, esports athletes, technology professionals, leaders and entrepreneurs.
At the ribbon cutting ceremony, representatives from Riot Games, SoLa Impact and dignitaries representing South Los Angeles spoke about the partnership and the importance of this work. Attendees got a first look at the center and had the chance to speak with Riot and SoLa executives, as well as students and parents who have benefited from the program.
The highlight of the space is the newly completed 3,000-square-foot esports and gaming arena with 40 high-end gaming PCs, a streaming studio, and a competitive 5v5 setup stage. During the event, students from SoLa’s Summer Tech Camp competed against each other in a game of Valorant and even got some tips from Merrill, Riot’s co-founder and president of Games.
“They help support this in a way that keeps the doors open. We are lucky to be right as a partner,” Francois said.
Riot and SoLa will work to provide students with the same access to the powerful benefits of technology as their counterparts in more affluent areas. The center aims to influence more than 1,000 students annually, with the long-term goal of closing the digital divide and inspiring future generations to pursue engineering careers they may never have dreamed of. t
At the center, students are trained in coding, animation, graphic design, digital content creation, esports development, entrepreneurship, and practical life and career skills.
Partners such as the Otis College of Art and Design and South LA Robotics provide instructors or coaches.
The center has 40 game consoles as well as 30 iMacs and 15 MacBooks. The summer camp program can train 60 community children each day, and it can provide after-school programs throughout the school year.
The role of Riot is crucial because children already know what it makes. The kids can learn to be esports competitors. But Francois said gaming is a great way to bring kids in and help them realize the wider opportunities technology can bring them.
“The game part of it is the chocolate on the broccoli,” she said. “Part of what we plan to do is to create real awareness around the huge careers in gaming. You don’t have to be just professional gamers. We want them to know that they can be a programmer, a character designer, that they can make the music behind the games, a promoter. And so that’s what our true intention is.”
The center serves children from the age of eight.
The group will seek further donations to ensure it can continue to operate and offer its programming for free. It is also looking for volunteers, Francois said. The goal is to keep exposing the children to people, places and experiences that they don’t get in their daily lives.
“For all the tech companies that want to collaborate, we may even be able to bring some of our students to their locations, once we get past all of this COVID-19. If they get the chance to visit a campus like Riot, they are stunned.”
Riot’s staff groups provide staff to assist with special events as needed. Burrell sees the place as a kind of next-generation digital YMCA for the kids.
“It’s crazy,” Burrell said. “After seeing COVID and closures and all that, kids can come together here and find a sense of belonging and community. It’s hard to feel close to work in this industry. But when you’re here and you see everything, you feel the energy and that’s something really special.”
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