What is Girls Who Code doing to address Club participation with the COVID-19 virus?

Girls Who Code is committed to the health and safety of all our Club participants and Facilitators. We are closely monitoring the unfolding situation and exploring different options to facilitate Clubs virtually. Please continue to refer to any guidelines provided by your school district, library, university, or community center and feel free to reach out to ​[email protected]​ with any additional questions or concerns.

In light of the recent school closures, does Girls Who Code provide any options for hosting Clubs virtually?

As more schools are closing and moving to an online learning model, we’re exploring different options to support Clubs to meet virtually. All of our curriculum and guides are already online on our curriculum platform, HQ. We’re assessing what additional support is needed, and we’ll continue to provide updates around any shifts to our programming.

What if my Club members don’t have internet access or a computer at home?

We generally recommend using desktops, laptops, or Chromebooks to run our curriculum, but if you don’t have a computer at home it is possible to access our materials via Girls Who Code HQ on a tablet. Also, in the coming weeks, you will be able to access HQ resources on your mobile device or cell phone.

If you have intermittent access to wifi and would like a PDF of our 3-5th grade curriculum materials to download for offline use in the future, please reach out to [email protected] or your Club Success Specialist.

Additionally, some companies like Spectrum and Comcast are offering free wifi hotspots across the country. While this is not supported by Girls Who Code, you can see here for a list of companies providing additional services.

My host organization (school, CBO, etc) is closed, can I still apply to start a Club?

Yes, we’re encouraging Facilitators to apply for our Clubs program, and we’re looking into different options to support virtual meetings. Given that our curriculum is already online, we have a wealth of information and resources that can be helpful supplements for teachers, parents, and members of the community.

If my Club does not meet for the rest of the semester, can I roll over my spring Clubs Fund into the fall?

At this time, we will not allow Clubs to carry over Clubs Fund into the fall. Clubs will be able to requalify in the fall and claim new funding at that time. Any purchases made up until this point in time are the property of the host organization and can be saved and used for next year.

Should Facilitators return their unopened snack boxes or the resource kit of books?

No, any purchases that Clubs make with their Clubs Fund, including resource kits, belong to their host organization and can be saved and used for next year.