Science Club for Girls Receives Advancement Award from The Boston Club April 27, 2011
Posted by Science Club for Girls in SCFG News.Tags: award, Mentors, Volunteers, women
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“The staff and I refer to ourselves as being small but mighty,” said Executive Director Connie Chow when she accepted the Advancement Award from The Boston Club. “Because it is really through the 200 plus mentors, board members and events volunteers who join hands in our mutual goal that we are able to inspire over 1,000 girls each year.”
Science Club for Girls Board Member Kimberly Dwyer; SCFG Volunteer Mentor Dr. Monica Hall-Porter; Executive Director Connie Chow; Keynote Speaker Corinne Grousbeck; Boston Club Advancement Committee Chair Ronna Woodward; SCFG volunteer and former board member Sharon Stone. Photo credit: The Boston Club
Science Club for Girls was honored with recognition and a $5,000 award at The Boston Club’s Community Salute on April 14th, an annual breakfast event held at Westin Copley Place Hotel. Science Club was recognized for how it effectively engages volunteers to advance girls and young women in the community.
Ronna Woodward, Chair of the Advancement Awards Committee said, “We were very moved by the transformational work being done by so many talented, committed volunteers and staff.”
Mother Caroline Academy also received an award.
The Boston Club seeks to build a community of women who are connected to each other and to those in their next stage of their careers, offer opportunities to give back, to share expertise and to support one another’s professional development.
The experience of a teen participant in Science Club for Girls’ Junior Mentor program epitomizes the impact of the program. “I learned it doesn’t matter what your race, age, or appearance is. You can do anything and become anything you put your mind to… It’s about having friends and peers to encourage you through your goal, which is the relationship I had with my team in SCFG. Science Club for Girls made me realize that I have the power and the knowledge to become a scientist and to help others achieve their goals and dreams.” Though she wasn’t able to share this at the breakfast, it captures why our volunteers are so vested in the girls.
Many thanks to The Boston Club and especially the Advancement Committee. We hope many of you will join our volunteer rank.
Mentors, volunteers and board members, past and present: Thank YOU. This award belongs to all of you.
Calling all poets and lyricists! Help us win a grant. March 25th deadline March 9, 2011
Posted by Connie Chow in contests, General, Volunteering.Tags: award, Non-Profit
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We need to come up with a 4-to-8-line poem that best sums up our mission and work to compete for the CTK foundation grants up to $10K. And the best thing, the winner gets an original song based on the poem. I’ve ALWAYS wanted our own song.
We think the “pledge” below for our K-3rd graders written by our former program manager Kareen Wilkinson, whom many of you know and love, is a great start. But it takes a bit of tweaking. (Sorry, Kareen. And we do engineering too, so, em, that’s another challenge). Will you help us??
So here goes:
We are here today because science is FUN!
We are here to show that science is for ANYONE!
Any race, any age, boy OR girl!
Science answers questions we have about the WORLD!
We use our brains and our hands, and we get to make a BIG MESS! (more…)
We’re one of six Afterschool Innovator Awardees! October 13, 2010
Posted by Connie Chow in Events, girls in science, STEM pipeline efforts.Tags: after school, award, Boston, Cambridge, CELLS, Childhood, children, Clubs, Free, Giving, inspiration, Junior Mentors, Lawrence, learning, MetLife, Newton, Non-Profit, Science, STEM, women in science
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The MetLife Foundation and the Afterschool Alliance honored our Science Clubs and C.E.L.L.S. (Career Exploration, Leadership and Life Skills) program for middle school girls with an Afterschool Innovator Award! We were selected from over 300 nominations and are the only Massachusetts-based organization, as well as the only girl-focused organization, to receive the award. The other awardees will be announced later this month. [Update: here they are].
The Afterschool Alliance’s Issue Brief identifies the benefits and barriers of introducing science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in after school settings, and highlights our programs as one of several effective models.
Education Secretary Reville
This award affirms that engaging activities beyond the classroom play a key role in the overall strategy to get underrepresented youth and especially girls, interested in STEM, as my colleagues and I had argued in this op-ed.
Massachusetts Secretary of Education Paul Reville graced us with his presence and praise at the award ceremony held yesterday at the King Open School in Cambridge, Science Club for Girls’ birthplace.
“I congratulate the Science Club for Girls and C.E.L.L.S. for this great achievement. These programs have a deep impact on young women, helping to spark an interest that captures the imagination of students, providing them with the support and encouragement they need to reach higher and engage more deeply in the exciting fields of STEM education,” he said.
He spoke eloquently about the “inspiration gap” in youth, and argues for “hands-on learning through engaging, content-rich curricula“.
He expressed his disappointment that his young daughters do not have a Science Club for Girls to join where they live in Worcester. So while his purview falls squarely within schools, he certainly sees after school as an important complement to what happens in school. If YOU do, be sure to ask the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, your representative, child’s principal and superintendent to suppport funding for quality afterschool programs.
Left to right: Cambridge Public School District Deputy Superintendent Carolyn Turk; Susan Richards, Cambridge Agenda for Children; Anita Krishnamurthi, STEM Policy Director, Afterschool Alliance; Connie Chow, Science Club for Girls; Scott Batey, MetLife representative; (front) Aicha Bellabes, Candace Greaves, SCFG junior mentors; City of Cambridge Vice Mayor Henrietta Davis
Here are a few congratulatory messages we received.
Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray, Chair of the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council:
“This is a well-deserved recognition for a program that is working to strengthen STEM education in Massachusetts. We know that a sharp focus on STEM education is critical to our current and future economic success. That is true for our young men as well as our young women, and the Science Club for Girls is helping to ensure that this is the case.”
Dr. Susan Windham-Bannister, President & CEO of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, and an Advisory Board Member for Science Club for Girls:
“This is an important program that seeks to address the gender and diversity gap in STEM education. It empowers young women to think about and prepare for careers in the sciences. As we seek to further strengthen our life sciences workforce in Massachusetts, programs like this are playing an essential role.”
Dennis White, president and CEO of MetLife Foundation:
“Middle school is a pivotal point in young people’s development. We are pleased to join the Afterschool Alliance in recognizing the Science Club for Girls and C.E.L.L.S. program model, which is addressing the needs of middle school students and putting them on the path to success.”
Add your comment below if you feel moved to do so!
Aspiration in Computing Award for female high school students July 11, 2010
Posted by Connie Chow in For parents, Non-SCFG programs.Tags: award, computing, high school, IT, ncwit, STEM
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Know a high school girl that wants to be like Barbie? I mean, the newest computer engineer Barbie, of course. If so, then you should nominate her for this Aspiration in Computing Award from the National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT), a wonderful organization that seeks to change the face of technology by encouraging more young women to enter and stay in the computing professions.
Massachusetts will be giving out the inaugural regional affiliate award in November to recognize young women who demonstrate talent in computing and who have the desire to pursue higher education in the field of IT.
NCWIT doesn’t stop there. They also work hard to change the climate of the workplace so young (and not so young) women would feel welcome and thrive in their chosen career. And so it should be.
Nomination deadline is October 15th. Detailed nomination information here. Official online nomination form is here. Bay State residents can mail inquiries to macaa@itasoftware.com.
Good luck!! And no, you don’t have to look like Barbie to win.
