Thanks to everyone who donated! Our campaign is over, but you can visit us at Media Poetry Studio for updates on our July 2015 Summer Camp.

MEDIA POETRY STUDIO: GIRLS NEED TECH

Hi! We are three Poets Laureate from Santa Clara County: David Perez, Erica Goss, and Jennifer Swanton Brown. We are poets and teachers, and have each worked with helping young people find their voices as writers.

We started Media Poetry Studio as a summer camp to provide artistic young women in Santa Clara County with the opportunity to produce high quality short films inspired by their own, original poetry.

Even though we live in Silicon Valley, women are vastly underrepresented in technology fields. We wanted to do something significant to address that fact. You can be part of our effort to help young women develop confidence, empowering them to excel in the realms of art and technology.

In order to make the camp as successful as possible, we are asking for $5000 to purchase camera equipment and accessories. Here is an itemized list of all of the equipment we hope to acquire along with prices (after tax):

We have some great perks for our supporters. We have cool T-shirts that you can wear to show your support, and hoodies for when the weather gets cooler. At the $100 level, we offer a T-shirt and a student-written haiku. David and Erica are published authors, and have autographed books for people who donate $250. Please check out all of the gifts we have!

If we don’t reach our goal, we will use the funds we receive to purchase the best camera we can with the money we have.

We established Media Poetry Studio to address a critical need: the lack of women’s participation in technology-related fields. Women are still underrepresented in major Silicon Valley companies, and too many girls stand on the sidelines while boys participate in computer classes, video games, and science fairs.

Our group is well-qualified to make Media Poetry Studio a success. Jennifer Swanton Brown has taught with the California Poets in the Schools since 2000, bringing poetry instruction to schoolchildren in the Bay Area. David Perez runs poetry workshops for youth that include writing and spoken word. Erica Goss taught high school poetry for five years, and ran a poetry camp for teens. Our partners are California Poets in the Schools and Poetry Center San Jose, so we are in good company!

Please let your friends know about Media Poetry Studio. Help us get the word out about getting young women involved in technology and art! You can use the IndieGoGo Share tools to make this as easy as possible.

Thank you!

Erica, David and Jennifer