Fairfield University wins grant for innovative girls technology camp | Press Releases

A Fairfield University-based camp aimed at bridging the gender gap in the technology fields will continue to boost area girl's skills and confidence, thanks, in part, to a grant from the Fairfield County Community Foundation Fund for Women and Girls. The foundation has awarded Fairfield University Professor Michael Zabinski's program a two-year grant of $7,752 to help fund the 2006 and 2007 camps for girls from Bridgeport, Norwalk, Fairfield, Milford and Orange.

The program has also received: a $2,200 grant from the Connecticut chapter of the American Association of University Women (AAUW); a $300 grant from the Bridgeport AAUW; a two-year $2,000 grant from The Harvey Hubbell Foundation; and $1,250 from Fairfield University.

"The anticipated long term effect of the project is to help shape tomorrow's female leaders in the field of technology," said Zabinski, a Fairfield professor of engineering and founder and executive director of National Computer Camps (www.NCCamp.com), the country's original computer camp.

Based on the successful girls computer camp Zabinski directed at Fairfield last summer, the two-year Technology Camp for Girls is designed to bolster computer and leadership skills in 50 girls entering seventh grade in five local school districts. Liaison teachers will select the campers in each district and female counselors will make up the majority of the staff serving as role models and fostering intergenerational, gender-affirming bonds. After finishing the camp experience, liaison teachers in the participating schools will organize computer clubs the girls will lead with their classmates.

The project directly addresses the large gender gap in technology and, in particular, computer science. Though girls perform as well as boys on Connecticut mastery tests and other standard exams, far fewer girls seek out educational and career possibilities in computers. For example, the enrollment in Advanced Placement Computer Science in the state in 2001-02 was 49 girls to 296 boys. The ratio of engineering technology B.S. degrees given in 2001 was 10.7 percent female to 89.3 percent male and, in 1999, women earned less than 20 percent of undergraduate computer science degrees.

Zabinski hopes to help change those numbers by providing a friendly place for girls to learn about computers, boost their confidence and consider future careers in technology. The camp will take place this summer from July 31 through August 4 and the girls will use Fairfield's state-of-the-art facilities to learn more about web page design, computer programming, Flash and Photoshop.

Interested students must submit a camp application and a letter of recommendation from a science teacher. More information is available at http://www.nccamp.com/gtc.

The Fairfield County Community Foundation promotes the growth of philanthropy to strengthen the communities of Fairfield County. Formed in 1992, it was named 2005 Outstanding Connecticut Foundation by the Connecticut and Fairfield County Chapters of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. The Foundation has assets approaching $71 million in over 220 donor funds established by individuals, families, corporations and organizations. In 2005, the Foundation awarded more than $7 million in grants to nonprofits dedicated to community and economic development, children and youth, women and girls, the environment, health and human services, and the arts.

The Fairfield County Community Foundation Fund for Women and Girls is a field of interest fun for the Foundation that was established to expand the capacity of women to be effective philanthropists.

Specifically, the Fund was created by women for women to:

Identify and effectively address the needs of women and girls in Fairfield County;
Education women about philanthropy and engage them in creating change through collective, targeted giving; and
Raise a permanent endowment to generate support for programs that foster the economic, educational, physical, emotional and social growth of women and girls.

The Fund for Women and Girls is designed to change its grant-making focus every few years to address the changing needs of women and girls in Fairfield County. Currently the Fund focuses on gender-specific programs that promote positive development in girls and young women ages 7-18. For more information about the Fairfield County Community Foundation, please call (203) 834-9393 or visit www.fccfoundation.org.