Skilling up from K-to-Gray
On a warm summer evening, kids and parents are gathered around laptops ready to dive into the world of coding. The atmosphere is electric, filled with laughter and the thrill of discovery.
Families have come together to learn, create, and have fun with technology, excited because they’ve been anticipating Family Code Night for weeks. And it’s finally happening in their hometown of Buffalo, NY!
Buffalo is rewriting its story—not by erasing its industrial past, but by building on it. Once a titan of American manufacturing, the Queen City is now cultivating a new identity: affordable, creative, resilient, and increasingly tech-forward.
At the heart of this transformation is TechBuffalo, a nonprofit helping build a more inclusive, AI-ready workforce across Western New York. With support from Microsoft’s TechSpark initiative, M&T Bank, and the 43North Foundation, TechBuffalo is bringing digital skills training directly into schools, libraries, churches, and community centers—proving that innovation isn’t confined to Silicon Valley. It belongs in Buffalo.
This isn’t just about tech. It’s about showing people they belong in the future we’re building.
A fellowship becomes a catalyst
In 2024, Rachel Eastlack became a TechSpark Fellow through TechBuffalo, part of Microsoft’s broader commitment to expanding economic opportunity in underserved communities. TechSpark Fellows work within local nonprofits to launch grassroots programs that reflect community needs, backed by Microsoft’s tools, funding, and mentorship.
One of Eastlack’s first initiatives was Family Code Night, a hands-on learning event designed to eliminate barriers to tech access like childcare and intimidation. Families code side by side using Minecraft Education and Microsoft’s Generation AI curriculum. What began as a 15-person pilot has now reached over 500 participants across 18 sessions, and momentum continues to grow.
The program’s strength lies in its simplicity: meet people where they are and show them that tech is for everyone. Kids light up building their first Minecraft mod. Parents rediscover the joy of learning. Some students become youth navigators, earning gift cards and confidence. Adults use the experience as a springboard to explore new careers.
Kids and parents can learn, create, and have fun together during Family Code Night, a learning event designed to eliminate barriers to tech access.
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Family Code Night is part of TechBuffalo’s broader “K-to-gray” skilling strategy, an approach that serves learners across generations.
The program’s mobility is a key advantage. Thanks to laptop donations from M&T Bank, they can bring tech training into every corner of the city. M&T’s partnership doesn’t stop with devices; it’s a model of digital transformation in action. As the bank modernized its own operations on Microsoft Azure, it’s also investing in the region’s talent pipeline, helping to ensure that Buffalo’s future workforce is tech-ready, in some cases becoming employees of the bank through TechBuffalo programs. That was the case for Antonéo, who gained new skills through an AI skilling program and was ultimately hired by M&T.
A lot of people move away from Buffalo, but for the first time in my life, I feel like I can succeed here.
Support from the 43North Foundation, a cornerstone of Buffalo’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, is accelerating this momentum. The foundation recognized Family Code Night as a critical on-ramp for exposing young people to technology at a pivotal age and committed funding to help scale its impact.
The organization’s annual PowerUpTech event serves as another vital pathway to careers. This multiday initiative connects college students with Buffalo-based companies, pairing them with summer technology internships. Each year, hundreds of students participate, eager to gain hands-on experience and take meaningful steps toward their future tech careers. These internships not only help students envision a long-term future in Buffalo but also bring fresh ideas and energy to local companies, a dynamic that Microsoft continues to benefit from year after year.
Next up: the Innovation Fellows Program, launching in fall 2025. It will equip teachers with tools and training to bring Family Code Night into classrooms and after-school clubs. Students will eventually compete in the Minecraft Global Build Challenge, designing in a custom-built digital version of Buffalo. Top participants will earn spots in TechBuffalo’s summer bootcamps, deepening their skills and connecting with like-minded peers.
Their curiosity is a seedling that can grow into this giant tree of knowledge, and finding out what they want to do in life, which will most likely be in the tech world.
Tech for all
Together, these programs are reframing what’s possible for Buffalo’s future. They show young people they don’t have to leave to find jobs. They empower small organizations to modernize. And they’re shaping a tech culture rooted in Buffalo’s values: grit, collaboration, and community.
And thanks to the shared vision of TechBuffalo, Microsoft, M&T Bank, and the 43North Foundation, that future is already taking shape—one family, one classroom, one line of code at a time.
