TechGirlz Launches “20K by 2020” Campaign to Teach Tech to More Middle School Girls

PHILADELPHIA, March 05, 2018 -- TechGirlz today unveiled a focused campaign to help diversify America’s future technology workforce by reaching 20,000 new middle school girls by 2020 using the nonprofit’s award-winning technology courses. The organization also celebrated having reached 10,000 girls on Saturday, and has set its sights on reaching double that number over the next two years. To support this initiative, TechGirlz also launched a $1 million capital campaign.

“We are thrilled to celebrate the 10,000 girls that have been an important part of our growth,” said TechGirlz CEO and founder Tracey Welson-Rossman. “We will build on this incredible momentum to reach another 20,000 girls over the next two years. Every girl that has a chance to learn about gaming, design, robotics, coding and more through a program like TechGirlz is building the foundation now to become a key contributor to America’s workforce tomorrow.”

TechGirlz helps inspire middle school girls – a time when studies show that girls historically opt out of technology related courses – to pursue a career in technology. TechGirlz is unique for its custom built TechShopz that can be taught by volunteer instructors throughout the world. Each course is designed to match girls’ stated desires for compelling, challenging, and creative technology-related instruction. To reflect the demands of the modern tech-enabled workforce, subjects range far beyond coding to include courses on gaming, design, robotics, and more.

To mark the occasion of having reached 10,000 girls over the life of the program, TechGirlz hosted live technology workshops on Saturday in ten locations around the country, including Chicago, Illinois; Denver, Colorado; New Orleans, Louisiana; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Raleigh, North Carolina. Every workshop was connected through Facebook Live so that girls and instructors were able to celebrate together.

“Community-building is an important part of training America’s next generation of tech-enabled workers,” continued Welson-Rossman. “Bringing our girls together to celebrate and learn throughout the day and from across the country helped them visualize a career path in technology together.”

To sustain its mission, TechGirlz is also launching a $1 million capital campaign to help reach its goal of inspiring 20,000 more middle school girls by 2020. The funds will be used to expand the TechGirlz library of courses, stretch its reach into new cities and states, and bring more volunteer instructors into the program. Early commitments to the campaign include contributions from CompTIA and Creating IT Futures.

“CompTIA has been a long-time believer in TechGirlz, since nearly the inception of the program,” said Charles Eaton, executive vice president, social innovation, CompTIA, and CEO, Creating IT Futures. “Beyond our financial donations over the last several years, our members and staff often volunteer to lead TechGirlz workshops. We know TechGirlz makes tech learning tangible for girls. Plus, TechGirlz cultivates a drive for lifelong learning; girls who attend their events not only learn a specific tech skill but how to build on that skill and keep learning.”

You can find updates on the TechGirlz celebration using #10ktechgirlz or through the TechGirlz Twitter account. To learn more about TechGirlz and its program, or to contribute to the 20K by 2020 campaign, 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:
Michael Azzano
Cosmo PR for TechGirlz
415-596-1978
[email protected]