Y GIRLS CODE | CHARLESTON, SC - YWCA GREATER CHARLESTON

WE'RE EMPOWERING GIRLS
by preparing them for high-paying #tech careers

In 2016 we launched Charleston's first Girls Who Code club for middle school girls. We invited female students in the 6th to 8th grades at Sanders-Clyde Creative Arts School, a school with a high percentage of low-income students of color, to join a sisterhood of supportive peers as they learned coding skills and concepts.

Our goal? To economically empower girls, especially girls of color, by enabling them to enter a traditionally white male industry that pays high wages.

Today our original Y Girls Code club members are still active, together attending the Syntax Code & Craft technology conference where they were mentored by women in the tech industry, representing YWCA.GC at events like local parades, visiting the local police department to learn how they use technology to keep Charleston safe, and attending the premiere of the historic blockbuster Black Panther.

Next, we launched three new Y Girls Clubs for elementary school girls: a second club at Sanders-Clyde, and new clubs at Morris Brown A.M.E. Church and Charleston Progressive Academy. In spring 2019, we launched six more Y Girls Code clubs, and then five more in the autumn of 2019.

This spring we launched ten more Y Girls Code clubs, ranging from the 3rd to the 12th grades. In late March we had to postpone the remaining club dates due to the coronavirus, but we are now offering a virtual program to our participants via Zoom during the remainder of the pandemic.

SPRING Y GIRLS CODE CLUBS | Began in January and February 2020

Baxter-Patrick James Island Library, Club 1 | Grades 3, 4, 5 (see the flyer)
Baxter-Patrick James Island Library, Club 2 | Grades 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 (see the flyer)
Charleston Progressive Academy, Club 1 | Grade 3 (see the flyer)
Charleston Progressive Academy, Club 2 | Grades 4, 5 (see the flyer)
Dorchester Road Regional Library | Grades 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 (see the flyer)
Felix Pinckney Community Center | Grades 3, 4, 5 (see the flyer)
Johns Island Library, Club 1 | Grades 3, 4, 5 (see the flyer)
Johns Island Library, Club 2 | Grades 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 (see the flyer)
Kids on Point | Grades 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 (see the flyer)
Memminger Elementary School | Grades 3, 4, 5 (see the flyer)

How you can help

As we continue to expand our Y Girls Code clubs across the Charleston tri-county region, w e're seeking volunteer facilitators. No experience is required. Sign up here!

Sponsor one girl's participation in a Y Girls Code club for $80... a low cost with a high return on investment! Your donation can change the entire economic trajectory of a Charleston girl's life, opening opportunities and networks she would never have otherwise.