On June 14th,  TechGirlz is Philadelphia’s entry in Twive and Receive Day,  a national 24 hour fundraising contest.  Each participating organization has 24 hours to raise as much money as possible.  The three organizations that raise the most funds will win an additional donation of between $5,000 and $15,000.

TechGirlz is proudly another of Philadelphia’s many firsts.

It is the first organization to provide adolescent girls with programming to show them that a future in technology does not necessarily equate to a “boring computer job” but instead transcends the cubicle into nearly every field imaginable.  By encouraging young women to participate in technology today, as well as providing a solid foundation of peers, mentors and positive role models, TechGirlz hopes to spark innovation, exhilaration and motivation in young women to become tomorrow’s tech leaders.  The girls in the program have built their own websites, learned 3D gaming, built their own electronic jewelry and tinkered in robotics.  The girls are learning that gender barriers do not have to exist in any industry.  They can love and learn anything.   More importantly they are learning that there are no limits to what they can do.

So what are we asking of you? We are asking you to help us with the:

TechGirlz 10 for 10 Fundraiser  

Give $10 (or more!) and Share with 10 of your friends (or more!) to help TechGirlz run 10 more programs and Help TechGirlz win $10,000.

Since Philadelphia is one of the fastest growing tech cities in the country, we are calling on that community and everyone who believes in empowering young women to be the future tech leaders, to rally around TechGirlz, raise money and awareness for them and help them win.

Invest in the next generation, and invest in the future of technology!

It is simple to help!  Between now and June 13th, help us spread the word.  Forward this email.  Send a message out to your social networks. ReTweet, +1 and Share our posts.  Blog about the TechGirlz 10 for 10.  Any way you can help us gain awareness and encourage people to donate.   We have even included some sample tweets/posts to make it even easier for you!

Then, on June 14th, click on our fundraising page http://twive.razoo.com/story/Techgirlz-10-For-10 and donate!

You can even sign up to get an email reminder so you don’t forget to donate on June 14th!  http://twive.razoo.com/giving_events/twive2012/home

We thank you for your participation.

A heart-felt thank you from the TechGirlz organizers and advisors: but most of all, from all of the young women whose lives we will change.

The girls learned how the printer worked, took a look at some of the electronics behind it, and even helped build the MakerBot printer they worked with. It may not look like much, but this self-assembled kit is a 3D printing powerhouse—heating plastic for the models up to 225 degrees Celsius (that’s about 500 degrees Fahrenheit!).

MakerBot employees generously volunteered their time in this exciting workshop.

Alison Leonard, Lead Embedded Engineer, talked about the electronics that go into a machine like this and how each tiny component plays a large role in making the 3D prints come to life.

Colin Butgereit, Master Builder and QA Manager, helped each participant build different parts of the printer and then demonstrated to the girls how their hard work paid off.

Far McKon, calling himself the Chief Nerd Herder, spent time explaining how different parts of the process—planning, design and building—work and answered questions as they popped up.

And Megan Cone, a jewelry designer from the Philly area, showed the girls how to use Rhino software to design jewelry and other objects to exact specs using the computer to sort out any errors before manufacturing.

All in all, it was an exciting day, and we learned that the hope is to be able to make 3D printers like these even more available to the general public.

So, even if you’re not a TechGirl, you may get to use one too—just not as early as we did!

Click here to read all about the Summit!

PLAYwithURfood, a FIRST robotics team that includes 5 TechGirlz, is going to the World Invitational Open in Florida! (Read more about the team here in a previous post.) They  won the Champion’s Award in the Delaware Champion’s Tournament and are now excited to compete against the other top teams in the world. FLL (FIRST Lego League) encourages middle schoolers to be interested in science and technology through “hard fun”–building and programming an autonomous robot out of Lego pieces. But FLL isn’t just about robots–teamwork and research are also a large part of the challenge. This year the team studied food additives and how they are harmful to our bodies. They created a website and a challenge to educate and encourage people to make healthy choices in the kinds of food they eat and how they store it. It would be a huge help to the team if you visited their website at www.playwithurfood.wordpress.com and took the challenge! Plus, you could win great prizes!

Where? 
TechWise Group
992 Wayne, PA 19087

When?
1:00 to 4:00 PM

This event is BYOL (Bring Your Own Laptop) and WiFi will be provided on location.
Only 14 spots are available, so sign up soon!

Click here to reserve your spot.

Like this infographic? Get more business technology news from IT Manager Daily.

Where are the women in technology?

That seems to be the question people keep asking.
TechGirlz has an answer—they’re still in middle school. That’s why we’re inspiring girls to enjoy technology and dream of all the different possibilities waiting for them in a technology career.

Let’s use these startling statistics as motivation:
• 25% of IT jobs are held by women.
• 11% of Fortune 500 tech company executives are women.
• 5% of tech startups are owned by women.
• 56% of women who enter the technology field leave for other careers.

Women are sorely needed in technology. This isn’t just an issue of gender equality; it’s about
improving the future of technology in this country.

One thing that is true and truly positive is that women do make a difference. For example:
• Women on tech teams boost problem solving and creativity.
• Teams that have at least one female member outperform all-male groups in collective
intelligence tests.
• ROI is 34% higher for tech companies with more women in management.

Isn’t it time that we find more ways to get women involved?

Speaking of making a difference, TechGirlz is getting girls excited about technology and their
own future in technology. Most girls, even if they are tech-savvy, opt out of technology careers
before they enter high school. That’s why we aim to inspire middle-school-aged girls and
remind them that technology doesn’t have to be boring.

We run free workshops on exciting technology topics, offer a week-long entrepreneur summer
camp, and connect girls with local women in technology who serve as terrific role models.

By encouraging women to participate in science and technology today, as well as providing
a solid foundation of peers, mentors, and positive role models, we hope to spark innovation,
exhilaration, and motivation in young women to become tomorrow’s tech leaders.

The key is working together to help girls and women stay interested in technology as a career.
We were happy to have this fantastic infographic (created by IT Manager Daily) to share above
to help you learn more on Women in Technology: Triumphs, Barriers and Interesting Data.

We’re also happy to hear from other women in technology who would like to help us spread
the word. Please contact us using the Contact Us form at the bottom of our web page.

With your mom (or, if you’re a mom reading this…with your daughter), you’ll create a web page about yourselves, or any topic you choose. You’ll learn how to transform a blob of text into a web page with headings, paragraphs, lists, links, images, and embedded videos (all using HTML). Then, you’ll style your web page, by changing the fonts and colours, adding a background image, adding margins, and more.

Then, you and your mom will be tasked with using your new skills to hack a website. Don’t worry – when we say “hack” we mean it in the friendliest way possible. We’re going to use Mozilla’s Hackasaurus tool to “remix” an existing webpage, which you’ll be able to save and share. Hackasaurus allows everyone to alter webpages – for personal use only – by just grabbing pieces (“elements”) one at a time and changing them. For example, we can make the Ladies Learning Code website about something totally different. We’ll end the day by sharing our hacks (and surely a few good laughs).

Sound like fun? Check it out!

Mother/daughter workshops / brought to you by ladieslearningcode.com

Techgirlz is partnering with MakerBot Industries to bring 3D Printing to you!  Come learn about the MakerBot 3D printer, design objects in a 3D CAD system, see them “printed out” in plastic, and take them home with you!

Three Dimensional printing is a new phenomenon in the tech world, and it is an amazing way to bridge the software and physical worlds.  The folks from MakerBot Industries have made 3D printing affordable for everyone.  We will learn about 3D printing, go online to Thingverse and search the designs, find and modify object designs, and print them out on the 3D printer.

The generous team from MakerBot has donated a 3D printer to TechGirlz, and they will be on site to help us assemble our very own 3D printer. Girls will get a chance to help with the build, and understand how a 3D printer works.
This program is limited to nine girls, who will be able to take home their 3D printed objects.  

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Where:
Chariot Solutions
515 Pennsylvania Ave, Suite 202
Fort Washington, PA 19034
When: Saturday May 12, 1:00 – 4:30 PM.

Click the following link to register now and reserve your spot!

http://makerbot3dprinting.eventbrite.com

Want to learn a little bit more about MakerBot in the meantime?
Visit www.makerbot.com and www.thingiverse.com for more information.