"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." - Nelson Mandela
Hello Backers: My name is Tamar Huggins and I am the Founder and Executive Director of Tech Spark - Canada's first tech and design school committed to empowering girls and children of colour, through innovative programs. I am an award-winning tech entrepreneur, author, and speaker with a passion for helping others reach their fullest potential.
In 2012, Tech Spark was just an idea. The idea came to me while I worked with tech startups through an incubator I created for underrepresented founders. The goal was always to increase the representation of women and people of colour as creators in tech, however, I realized that in order to achieve this, the focus must be placed on children.
In 2015, Tech Spark opened its doors and since then we have educated over 500 students living in underserved communities within the Greater Toronto Area. Our organization's purpose has become even more clear and our impact on each student's life has become more evident. We want to see a proportional representation of women and people of colour in tech creation and innovation in Canada. Our goal is to transform the lives of girls and children of colour through culturally relevant, equitable and innovative tech education.
The Problem We Aim to Solve
Women represent the majority of young university graduates but are still underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and computer science (STEM) fields. Women only make up 23% of STEM graduates and black women make up a paltry 2.9% *Stats Canada 2015.
While jobs in STEM-related industries are growing three times faster than other parts of the economy and paying 12% higher, these jobs employ less than 25% of women. New reports are finding women are still disproportionately hired into their companies' lower-paying technical roles, rather than professional roles.
Statistically, girls and black children tend to avoid or drop out math-intensive STEM paths due to math anxiety, gender and racial stereotypes. Many STEM intervention camps based in the Greater Toronto Area are financially or physically inaccessible to children living in underserved communities and they do not actively target underrepresented groups, such as young girls of colour. These challenges have caused a major pipeline breakdown from education to careers in STEM.
The economic success of this country depends on proper preparation and access to opportunities for all children. Diversity drives innovation - and we simply can not afford to leave anyone behind.
Tech Spark Summer of INNOVATION
We want to teach 100 students how to create 100 innovative tech projects this Summer. Students will learn how to:
- Build and fly their own drones
- Create mobile apps
- Create a virtual chatbot
- Build a multi-page website
- Create a 2D game
- Compose music and build movable contraptions through VR
As a backer, your support means providing an opportunity to children from underserved neighbourhoods to become today's creators and innovators. All they need is that spark so that they can change the world in which they live.
What Your Support Means to This Campaign
We are asking for $50,000 for the Summer of INNOVATION campaign. Your support will allow us to:
- Invest in equipment that can be reused for future programs (Purchase drone hardware and 10 laptops)
- Cover the cost to sponsor each child for 6 weeks of Summer camp (full day, 5 days/week)
- Provide honourariums and cover travel expenses for each of our educators and technical mentors
- Cover the cost of class materials
As a thank you
We have some pretty amazing and useful perks for all our backers, whether you are supporting us as an individual or a company. Your support means EVERYTHING to our children.
Other Ways You Can Help
Help this campaign go viral! Share on social media, write an article or tell someone at your company. Each time you share our message, you help bring visibility to this very important issue and encourage others to get involved.
