Meet a Member – Kids Code Jeunesse

Since we first arrived at Notman House three years ago, we’ve been continuously inspired by the passion, creativity and innovation of our neighbours. Our office started in a shared space at the front of the House and within a few weeks we had media knocking at our door…but not because of the work at Kids Code Jeunesse. We soon found out that we were working in the same corner where PasswordBox also started and had just been acquired by Intel.

As KCJ grew, so did our office space. Our growth is due in large part to Montreal’s tech community. In our first (very!) lean years, we grew because of support from Montreal’s Startup community, who helped us through a very successful crowd-fundraising campaign, Vigilant Global who has covered our office rent since Day 1, and the awesome TechNoel holiday parties/ fundraisers. In 2015, we moved into our own small office on the 1st floor and, now in 2017, we’ve moved up to the 2nd floor to accommodate the growth of our national team. We’re growing not only in Quebec but across the country,  building KCJ communities in every province in Canada.

Kids Code Jeunesse is a Canadian not for profit dedicated to integrating digital skills into children’s education and building strong, innovative and educated communities. We work with all levels of education, from provincial Ministries of Education to classroom teachers, community centres and libraries. Our success is rooted in the many hours of work from over 900 volunteers who dedicate their skills to making a big impact. Lots of our volunteers and instructors are Notman alumni!

Notman House is our home. You’ll often see our own kids taking part in entrepreneurial opportunities at Notman and munching on croissants from Osmo Cafe. Actually, before Osmo Cafe existed, our 8-10 year olds used the space to sell their own home-made baked goods to fundraise for Kids Code Jeunesse.

Today, you’ll often find founder & director, Kate Arthur, mentoring teams of young girls to build businesses and apps, coordinator Dannielle Dyson organizing a Code Club or a Raspberry Pi Meetup, or lead KCJ instructor Yasmin Ahmad teaching kids how to code their own video game.  If you’re interested in children’s education in the 21st century, drop by our offices – it’s a favourite subject. We’d love to find out what you’re up to.

We look forward to having you part of this great, rich, generous community we call Notman House.

– The Kids Code Jeunesse Team