Foundation

The Bolton Foundation, Inc. was founded to close a gap I saw firsthand: bright, curious kids on the South Side of Chicago rarely encounter the same on-ramps into software that their peers elsewhere take for granted. We change that by putting curriculum, mentorship, and financial support directly in their hands.

Program-It

Program-It is our beginner coding program — built to open the door for kids who might not otherwise get one. Our first workshop ran Monday, July 13, 2026 in Hazel Crest, IL, in partnership with Hip-Hop DetoxX — the Chicago youth organization led by my cousin Enoch Muhammad that blends social-emotional learning, trauma-informed care, and hip-hop arts to reach kids in grades 3–12. In a single afternoon, students worked through every lesson of Code.org's Course C — start to finish, on their own — building a working clone of Flappy Bird, Dong Nguyen's 2013 mobile classic. In the final lesson they remixed it with their own sprites, mechanics, and rules.

The goal isn't just to teach syntax. It's to show them "you can make this." That's the moment everything changes.

The Bolton Pathway Scholarship

A $1,000 STEM award for students continuing their education in a technology field. The scholarship isn't just about tuition — it's about signaling that our community sees you, and that we're investing in what you're building.