CO+HOOTS hosts 75+ kids in 24-hour Code Camp

As part of codeday.org’s CODE DAY,  CO+HOOTS hosted our second 24-hour code event for kids.

We had nearly 80 students participate representing 13 schools around the Valley:

The students formed 15 teams and created projects including video games and apps within the time span of 24 hours.We had developer coaches on site who helped the students with their projects and had several workshops held during the CODE DAY 24-hour period.Of the students who attended, 24% were female, and 85% were minority.  19% of the students do not have a computer at home and 17% do not have internet at home.Over 50 of the participants where from the PUHSD thanks to the efforts of School Board member Stephanie Parra. Phoenix City Council Member Daniel Vanlenzuela, who has made entrepreneurship a large focus of his leadership in Phoenix, visited the students during the event.

The purpose of the event was to expose youth to 21st century technology and tech careers. Of those who attended, initially only 46% were interested in pursuing a technology career but in the end, 75% said they would consider a career in tech and 98% of the participants said they want to attend a CODE DAY again.

The event was sponsored locally by: Cox Communications, Infusionsoft, SRP, Web PT, and the AZ Tech Council. Computers were also loaned to the students without laptops by GO DADDY.

Judges for the event included” GoDaddy executives, local tech developers and representatives from Girls In Tech Phoenix.

The event was part of a national movement and was promoted locally by the CO+HOOTS Foundation. which has an initiative to “Tap Talent Early” in Phoenix.

CO+HOOTS co-hosts a coder dojo at the Burton Barr Library on Tuesdays at 3:30 pm  and will host our next CODE DAY Feb. 14-15, 2015.

To watch a 60-second video of the 24-hour event, click here!