EnginEquity
FREE ROBOTICS WORKSHOPS
SIX WEEK SESSION
Starting Wednesday, September 16, 2026
Designed for beginners in 5th-7th Grade
The Y Center | 1000 N Main St Blacksburg
Wednesdays – September 16, September 23, September 30, October 7, October 14, October 21. 5:30-7pm
15 spots available!
Confirm by emailing
HP HOPE
The YMCA at Virginia Tech is expanding its digital skilling and inclusion programs in Blacksburg, VA, with support from the HP HOPE program. Through this partnership, the YMCA will integrate refurbished HP laptops into its Digital Hubs, community programs, and outreach efforts—helping youth and community members build essential digital literacy and workforce‑ready skills.
“Access to technology directly affects a young person’s ability to learn, work, and participate in society,” said Ryan Martin, CEO of the YMCA at Virginia Tech. “These devices help ensure young people gain the digital skills and confidence they need to navigate a rapidly changing world of work.”
Through its digital programs, the YMCA provides foundational tech skills, education and career exploration, and safe, supportive spaces for hands-on learning. HP HOPE advances digital equity by extending the life of quality technology through responsible reuse, enabling the YMCA to reach more learners and strengthen digital inclusion locally.
This effort is part of a broader global collaboration between HP and the YMCA, supporting more than 520 community-based digital hubs across 23+ countries.
Beginning February 2026, the YMCA at Virginia Tech will launch a new session of EnginEquity, a free, hands-on coding and robotics workshop for youth. Participants will use the HP HOPE laptops to explore coding concepts and program robots through creative, guided activities.
ABOUT US
WHAT DO WE DO ?
BUILD A ROBOT CAR
Learn from experience instructors that give each student individualized feedback to engineer a robot car using sensors, motors and microcontrollers.
WHO ARE WE ?
This program was founded by Bethany Bookout, outreach coordinator at the YMCA, Neeharika Yallayi, PHD candidate at Virginia Tech, and Ian Yu, Director of Strategy, Workshop Manager at FRC team 401, and Ground Engineer Head on the BELL AVR Drone team.
Our Advisors
VT CS²
CS Squared (Computer Science Community Service) is a student-run outreach organization at Virginia Tech. The group connects computer science students with the local community to provide free tech help sessions.
HP HOPE
Through the HP–World YMCA Accelerating Digital Equity (ADE) partnership, nearly 296,000 people were reached across 641 Digital Hubs in 29 countries during Q2 2026.
Thanks for helping start this program.
VT CRO
Assisted in planning the curriculum for this program, and finding sponsers for this program, provided Arduino kits
MAKER CAMP
Assistance on planning the curriculum for this program, helped to expand the program with more participants
Let’s Code at Blacksburg
Assisted in finding sponsors for this program and planning the program curriculum
NEW RIVER ROBOTICS
Funded over $200 to this program and assisted in planning the curriculum for this program and offered volounteers
Our Partners
MFRL Library
Help to spread awareness about this program by posting on email newsletter
VT CEED
Help to spread awareness about this program
New River Valley
Help to spread awareness about this program by posting on the email newsletter, and sponsoring this program by providing funding and voulunteers
BMS & FTC Robotics
Help to spread awareness about this program by posting on email and newsletter
Our Values
SAFETY
Secure learning environment with safety procedure to keep children out of danger
DIVERSITY
Minority groups and underprivileged families deserve the same STEM education to create passion
EDUCATION
Experienced teachers who can teach Robotics principles
We Respond
Contact us for anything you want to know! We are happy to answer any question you have as quickly as possible.