PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 29, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- To honor Women’s History Month this March, TechGirlz today announced plans to set the world record for the number of girls coding at the same time through its March 30th Code Breakers event. TechGirlz also announced that it is on track to exceed its prior forecast of reaching 20,000 girls by 2020.
“In Code Breakers, we hope to create a world record that can quickly be broken,” said TechGirlz CEO and founder Tracey Welson-Rossman. “There is a rising tide of girls joining programs like TechGirlz because of an interest in tech, to learn new skills with their friends, or to pursue it as a lucrative and empowering future career. It is only fitting that we recognize this sea change on the occasion of Women’s History Month.”
On March 30, 2019 from 12pm-3pm EST, TechGirlz will host Code Breakers workshops that connect girls from around the country through video chat to set this world record. Run by TechGirlz volunteer mentors, each workshop will instruct participating girls on coding basics and coordinate a website development project. The goal of the program is to call attention to the need for more women to participate in technology careers, and ultimately to inspire others to break the new record.
Code Breakers has already attracted partners like Drexel University that will host a workshop in Pennsylvania. Additional Code Breakers workshops have been scheduled in Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, and Tennessee with more to be announced soon.
CompTIA’s tech workforce charity Creating IT Futures has been a longtime supporter of TechGirlz and its mission to train more women for the future tech workforce. “We are excited to see the pace of recruitment at TechGirlz and wish them luck in setting a world record for the number of girls coding,” said Charles Eaton, executive vice president, social innovation, CompTIA, and CEO, Creating IT Futures. “It’s critical that we collectively work to expand and diversify our future tech workforce. TechGirlz is supporting that work by reaching young girls at a critical age and instilling in them a lifelong love of technology.”
TechGirlz reached a milestone 10,000 girls participating in its programs in early 2018. To mark the occasion, TechGirlz launched a $1 million capital campaign in support of an effort called “20K in 2020” to expand its reach to 20,000 girls by 2020. TechGirlz has already reached 15,000 girls and is on track to significantly surpass its original goal.
More information about Code Breakers, including how to attend or host a workshop, can be found at https://www.techgirlz.org/code-breakers/. To learn more about TechGirlz and its programs, please visit http://www.techgirlz.org.
About TechGirlz
TechGirlz is a nonprofit that fosters a love for technology in middle school girls. Our free, open source technology courses can be used by anyone to inspire curiosity, impart confidence and build community as the foundation for the application of technology throughout a girl’s career and life. TechShopz courses have been taught by volunteer instructors in ten states and four countries to more than 5,000 girls. To learn more or how you can participate, please visit http://www.techgirlz.org/.
Press Contact:
Stephanie Hicks
Cosmo PR for TechGirlz
805-295-9455
stephanie@cosmo-pr.com