Iowa is stereotypically thought of as a farm-centric state with unending corn fields. But Des Moines, the capital city of Iowa, is very different from what one might expect—a multicultural urban economy booming in manufacturing, financial services, biotechnology, and green energy production. Microsoft is dedicated to contributing to organizations, causes, and projects in the communities that host Microsoft datacenters. Recently, Microsoft invested in several community programs supporting environmental, educational, and revitalization projects in the Greater Des Moines area, where Microsoft has had a datacenter presence since 2008.

Træer for evigt

To expand and care for the tree canopy in Des Moines, focusing on equitable distribution, Microsoft has supported  Trees Forever  for a third year. One of the group’s main goals is to grow the Des Moines area’s urban tree canopy by 3 percent in the next 30 years, with particular focus on equitable distribution across the city. This year, the organization has hosted 13 volunteer planting days with over 150 volunteers. Seven local teens found employment with the Growing Futures program, planting the trees and working on caring for them and watering them from spring to fall. The Growing Futures program has planted over 600 trees and cared for over 14,500 trees around Des Moines in 2020. This provides these teens with professional development opportunities while reducing carbon impact.

Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity

Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity  builds and rehabilitates homes to help facilitate homeownership in the community, also assisting with repair, weatherization, and beautification of homes. Microsoft recently supported the revitalization of several Des Moines area homes; the upgrades will help these homes to be more energy efficient, but also improve curb appeal. This work includes replacing windows, installing grab bars and ramps, improving insulation, updating gutters and doors, and repainting.

Vi forbinder punkterne

Microsoft is also partnering with  We Connect the Dots to support their upcoming Code-a-thon, a community event that challenges students to solve global challenges with coding tools. Kids will be organized into teams with a mentor to help provide training on HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Teams are given access to Microsoft Visual Studio, Github , and  Azure DevOps  to develop their solution over the course of 48 hours. This year, We Connect the Dots will conduct the whole event virtually, using Microsoft Office and Teams to provide seamless online collaboration.

I takt med at Des Moines-samfundet fortsætter med at vokse og ændre sig, glæder Microsoft sig til fortsat at støtte nonprofit- og samfundsorganisationer i deres arbejde for bæredygtighed, uddannelse, udvikling af arbejdsstyrken og andre initiativer.

Call for applications—Des Moines Community Challenge

Lokale samfundsledere kan få støtte til at starte en af 12 etablerede og virkningsfulde idéer inden for områderne uddannelse, miljømæssig bæredygtighed og velstående samfund. Holdene vil modtage de ressourcer, den startkapital og den støtte, der er nødvendig for at starte et af disse projekter i deres lokalsamfund. Hvert hold, der deltager i udfordringen, har 30 dage til at sammensætte deres hold og udarbejde en handlingsplan for at være berettiget til startkapital.

For more information and to apply:   https://www.changex.org/us/funds/desmoines-community-challenge