Team4Tech’s collaborative skills-based volunteering programming brought together ten employee volunteers from Cadence Design Systems and staff from our NGO partner Arrastão Project to co-design impactful solutions for learners in a socially vulnerable community in Brazil. This immersive on-site project focused on two critical areas: digital literacy and makerspace innovation.
A Community Resource in São Paulo
Since 1968, Arrastão Project (Projeto Arrastão) has been a cornerstone of community development in the Campo Limpo region of São Paulo, Brazil. Supporting over 1,000 learners daily, the NGO provides a wide range of programs—from daycare and youth training to entrepreneurship and innovation—focused on empowering individuals and building strong community ties. Arrastão helps their students achieve autonomy, become agents of change in their communities, and increase their professional and economic potential.
Arrastão began their strategic NGO partnership with Team4Tech in 2023. Our partnership goals include:
- Increasing the employability rates for their students
- Integrating more technology topics into the curriculum of all educational programs
- Using more technological tools for teaching and learning
- Increasing the efficiency of their team
A Skills-Based Volunteering Program Building NGO Capacity
To further these partnership goals, Team4Tech facilitated a strategic pro bono project connecting Arrastão with skilled volunteers from Cadence Design Systems. Volunteers from six different countries traveled to São Paulo to create scalable solutions addressing digital literacy and leveraging artificial intelligence for STEM education.
Enhancing Digital Literacy Through Blogging
One subteam of skilled volunteers worked to equip educators and students with tools to create and manage blogs. Their work included:
- Platform Selection and Setup: Volunteers introduced and implemented WordPress as a user-friendly platform tailored to Arrastão’s needs.
- User Manual: Volunteers designed a comprehensive user manual for blog posts to guide staff and educators.
- Training Sessions: Volunteers led workshops for staff, teachers, and students to build confidence in managing the WordPress platform.
- Pathway to Content Creation: Volunteers established a blog structure with example posts to inspire students to share their stories.
I feel like I have become more mindful and effective in my communication as a result of Team4Tech experience—having to deliver technical topics about AI to a wide range of people (12-70 years old, very different backgrounds) really requires to tune in your messaging, empathy and understanding.”
—Justas Lukosiunas, Cadence Design Systems Volunteer
Team4Tech’s volunteer team also delivered student-facing workshops on topics such as evaluating credible sources, creating mind maps, selecting and crediting media, and best practices for blogging. This institutional blog initiative provides Arrastão students with a new venue for creative expression, as well as valuable online writing and publishing experience.
Makerspace Innovation: Integrating AI into STEM Education
The second subteam of skilled volunteers focused on revitalizing Arrastão’s makerspace with cutting-edge AI tools, impacting students, educators, and the broader community. Their contributions included:
- AI Workshops: Volunteers conducted engaging sessions on AI fundamentals for students and teachers. These sessions are added into the existing STEM curriculum.
- Classroom Activities: Volunteers developed lessons on practical applications of AI, such as reinforcement learning and facial recognition.
- Community Engagement: Volunteers created an AI-powered survey to identify community needs, empowering students to design projects that address real-world challenges in Campo Limpo.
I gained improved skills in dealing with ambiguity, being adaptable and agile. I think [[this experience]] also gave me a better sense of seeing things from other people’s point of view and empathizing more. We also had to teach classes to children and teenagers which was a completely different skill set and experience for me. Making sure we were communicating effectively with them made me see everything in a completely different way than I am used to when I am presenting work to my colleagues.”
—Thiago Radicchi Roque, Cadence Design Systems Volunteer
Volunteer Support Sets Arrastão Up for Success
With the efforts and initiatives of this skills-based volunteering project, Arrastão’s educators and learners now have more tools to bridge the digital divide and access future-ready skills. The digital literacy program strengthens communication and tech capabilities, essential for employability in the digital economy. The makerspace enhancements inspire students and teachers to embrace innovation, positioning Arrastão as a hub for technological creativity for the community they serve.
We greatly appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with Team4Tech! It was an incredible and enriching experience that brought countless benefits to our organization and our students. We are very excited about the future possibilities and look forward to continuing this partnership!”
—Arrastão Project Leadership
Looking ahead, Arrastão plans to expand both initiatives:
- Digital Literacy: Introducing additional lessons and promoting interdisciplinary applications for the blogging platform.
- Makerspace: Continuing AI integration, distributing community surveys, and spearheading student-led projects to address identified needs.
Building Skills and Connection for Volunteers
The project left a lasting impact on both the Arrastão community and the Cadence volunteers. Volunteers reflected on the transformative power of collaboration and cross-cultural learning, with many emphasizing the joy of using their professional skills to contribute to meaningful change.
I loved the sense of belonging Team4Tech fostered. From beginning to end, I felt like I gained a wonderful group of friends and created enriching connections with the students and educators of Projeto Arrastao.”
—Andreea Varlan, Cadence Design Systems Volunteer
The project showcases the impact of corporate volunteerism in strengthening nonprofit capacity. By combining professional expertise with community-driven goals, initiatives like this one equip Team4Tech’s NGO partners to deliver scalable and sustainable solutions that prepare learners for a brighter future.
This is just one example of Team4Tech’s global contributions to education. Our organization continues to accelerate the impact for education-focused NGOs worldwide.