Verizon Awards Grant to Good Girls Write Code to Empower the Next Generation of Women-Leaders in Tech!

HAMPTON ROADS, Va., June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Despite its critical and growing importance, computer science is taught in only a small minority of U.S. schools. In our technology-driven world exists a gender-gap in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, or STEM,  with only 1 out of 3 high school girls entering college in a STEM related field. The Verizon Foundation has awarded a $10,000.00 grant to the national nonprofit Good Girls Write Code to empower girls in grades K-12 with technical skills needed to become the next generation of women-leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators of technology.

The grant will provide girls in low-income areas with access to computer science education and exploration of STEM careers they may not have otherwise considered. Learning computer science fosters critical thinking skills through math and science and provides girls with an avenue to creatively express themselves through visual representation. Girls of this age group are open to the positive peer influences, positive female role models and the confidence enhancing lessons that are all parts of Good Girls Write Code programs.

The Verizon Foundation's grant provides Good Girls Write Code the ability to expand its computer science programs and provide training to teachers in Title I schools across Hampton Roads, VA. "The Verizon/Good Girls Write Code partnership focuses on the principle that all girls should be afforded equal opportunity and accessibility to computer science education. This grant will allow Good Girls Write Code to expand its reach to all girls nationwide with the opportunity to learn technical skills that offer a brighter future." said Sasha Oppleman, Founder and CEO of Good Girls Write Code.

Recent studies suggest women make up approximately 25% of STEM related jobs. The deficiency of women in STEM careers creates an untapped pool of potential candidates for employers searching for qualified employees and hinders the growth of our economy. Over 50% of companies in the U.S., state they are having difficulty finding qualified employees with STEM skills necessary to do their job. However, less than 10% of schools in the U.S. incorporate a computer science program in their curriculum. Good Girls Write Code aims to solve this problem by offering our computer science programs as an after-school "coding club" or as part of the STEM curriculum in schools nationwide.

One teacher writes that our programs are "an amazing opportunity for not only myself, but the girls as well." She continues to state that she is "thankful that I was able to bring this opportunity to my school, giving girls a chance to learn coding, and participate in something that they wouldn't have ever thought to explore otherwise….Mission accomplished Good Girls Write Code."

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To learn more about Good Girls Write Code and their available program visit: URL: http://goodgirlswritecode.org
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To learn more about the work the Verizon Foundation is doing visit:
http://www.verizon.com/about/responsibility/giving-and-grants 
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Goodgirls Write Code, Inc. is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization 
Tax ID #47-3944987

CONTACT: Callie Werwath, 1-757-506-3100, [email protected]

SOURCE Goodgirls Write Code

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http://goodgirlswritecode.org