Vera is a 10th grader from Bushwick who wants to learn to code mobile apps. She has an idea for a STEM education app that she’d like to build with her science teacher, but needs to learn more about code to do it, even after getting started by taking part in Girls Who Code.
The teenager comes from a low-income family and can’t afford the $899 in tuition it takes to attend a week of camp at iD Tech at NYU. So she’s turned for help to the crowdfunding platform Wishbone, which describes itself as working to eliminate the opportunity gap.
Wishbone staff split their time between California and the Cobble Hill offices of the Blue Ridge Foundation. They’ve built a platform that enables students to post videos and essays about what they would like to do and then put them up online for people to support.
Vera needs to raise $1,077 to attend the camp, travel there each day and receive support along the way.
In the video below, she explains that she understands that the world needs more young women interested in coding and that she’s committed to getting a headstart on programming skills.
[vimeo 66687892 w=650 h=365]
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