A one day only fundraiser for
TechGirlz will take place
June 14. The local nonprofit, dedicated to training middle and high school students for jobs in technology, is Philadelphia's entry in Give Across America through the
Twive and Receive campaign.
Gloria Bell, who chose the organization for the competition, says, "TechGirlz gets all of the money we raise and if they are in the top three fundraising cities, they get an additional amount, $5,000 for third place, $10,000 for second place or $15,000 for first place, on top of what we raise."
Here's the setup: donate $10 and then encourage 10 friends to donate as well through social media. Bell has written suggested tweets, so it's a no-brainer to participate.
TechGirlz, with the mission of empowering girls to be future technology leaders, has a year round calendar, and is running a one week
Entrepreneur Summer Camp for middle school girls the week of July 9, where each student has a chance to create a startup in a hackathon setting. The program is in conjunction with
DreamIt Ventures and
Startup Corps.
Tracey Welson-Rossman, a female tech star in her own right, founded TechGirlz, and has since welcomed Kerry Rupp, Yasmine Mustafa, Jane Frankel, Neelan Choski, Anita Garimella Andrews, Christian Kunkel, Karen Stellabotte, Skip Shuda and Joyce Akiko to the leadership team.
"Curiosity and research led me down the path to find where I hypothesize it begins - at high school, specifically 9th grade. Studies show that girls at that age self-select out of technology learning because they do not understand what a career in tech can be. They see the stereotypes in the media of nerdy white males who work in cubicles and are not creative or collaborative," says Welson-Rossman. "We know that is not the case. TechGirlz wants to show the depth and breadth of what technology can offer. We also want to represent what the folks in tech actually look like - men and women."
TechGirlz hosts regular workshops to teach girls a wide range of skills including programming, web design, podcasting,3D printing and animation. Welson-Rossman also reports that TechGirlz is at a point where it will soon be hiring staff to help the organization grow and to track participants' progress.
Source: Gloria Bell, Tracey Welson-Rossman, TechGirlz
Writer: Sue Spolan