Microsoft Corporation CEO Steve Ballmer announced $1.7 million in cash and in-kind donations of software and specialized curriculum to several nonprofits in Louisiana and Texas to help boost the region’s post-Katrina revitalization. The grants are part of Microsoft’s Unlimited Potential, a global initiative designed to help broaden digital inclusion and aid global workforce development by providing technology skills through community technology centers.
Speaking at New Orleans-based Jefferson County Workforce Center, supported in part by Delgado Community College, Ballmer and Xavier University president Norman Francis, who is also chairman of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, discussed the potential of training and technology to help citizens achieve economic and social empowerment.
“In a post-Katrina world, retaining and rebuilding a skilled work force is critical to the future of the Gulf Coast economy,” Ballmer said.
“Microsoft is committed to working with our Gulf Coast partners to help expand opportunity for people and businesses throughout this fantastic region.”
U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu joined Ballmer and Francis on stage to discuss the region’s economic growth and how Microsoft’s $1.7 million donation will help equip the work force for employment in the information economy.
“Public-private partnerships such as that between Microsoft and the communities of Louisiana are prime examples of what can be done to move our state forward and to make Louisiana even more competitive as we recover from hurricanes Katrina and Rita,” Landrieu said.
In addition to direct contributions, Microsoft is advancing the important issue of work-force development by engaging with other businesses, work-force investment boards and government representatives who are taking a leadership role in providing the computer skills essential to employability in today’s economy.
At last year’s National Association of Workforce Boards Forum, Microsoft entered into a two-year alliance with the U.S. Department of Labor to further advance technology skills and training programs by funding One-Stop Career Centers around the country
In addition to the commitments outlined by Ballmer today, the company and its employees invested more than $11 million in cash contributions and technology solutions in the months immediately following Hurricane Katrina. This included donations to the United Negro College Fund and the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund to assist faculty and students impacted by Hurricane Katrina, as well as development of a Web site designed to consolidate data on missing persons and evacuees to help families locate and register missing relatives.
In recent months, Microsoft joined a number of major American corporations in an unprecedented effort to channel long-term, private sector funding to the Gulf Coast as part of the $1 Billion Gulf Coast Rebuilding Challenge.
