TechBirmingham, TechAlabama and Daxko are teaming up to host the first ever Kids Code-A-Thon taking place at the Daxko offices in Homewood on December 3rd.
The event is the culmination of a year of programming workshops offered for children ages 8-17. The Birmingham Chapter of 100 Girls of Code and Super Code Sunday are both initiatives of TechAlabama designed to teach kids about computer programming and related disciplines. Each event is focused on exposure to and learning about tech skills like web design, game coding, animation, 3D object orientation, database management, and much more.
Over 370 kids have attended the Super Code Sunday events held this year. The events strive to create an opportunity for kids to get together in a fun, collaborative environment to learn and share their love of technology.
In the last year, the local 100 Girls of Code events have served over 650 girls participating in half-day workshops. The mission of 100 Girls of Code is to achieve gender parity in STEM fields by introducing more young women to code and computer engineering at a young age.
At the Code-A-Thon, children will form teams to create an app with the goal of creating something to help make Birmingham a better place. Volunteers from local tech companies will be on hand to help the children develop their ideas. At the end of the event the teams will pitch their product to a panel of judges and prizes will be awarded to the winning teams.
“Learning how to work as a team to build a piece of software is invaluable to young people. There are many different facets of software development and the Code- A- Thon is the perfect event to give these young ones a look into the workings of a software development team and teach problem solving in all aspects. I am always looking for ways to give back to the community and hopefully make an impact on a young person’s life. I’m thankful for this opportunity to do just that,” said Trent Kocurek, CEO of Airship.
Local sponsors have contributed donations to ensure the event has the necessary resources and make it possible to offer this event at no cost to the children attending. Sponsors include Daxko, DST Health Solutions, Vaco Birmingham, Think Data Solutions, Logista, Frios Gourmet Pops, CalidusCloud, Fetch, Big Daddy D’s Tees, Matrix Resources, InfoMedia and Golden Flake Snack Foods.
“Daxko is excited to support this important initiative of Techbirmingham. In order to build a strong technology ecosystem, we must have a high volume of talent in Birmingham. Initiatives focused on young students in essence feed the top of the funnel, and for the students, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better career option for tomorrow’s economy,” said Dave Gray, CEO of Daxko.
For more Information about the Kid’s Code-A-Thon, please contact:
Christina Smith
(205) 918-7515
csmith@techalabama.org
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