Hour of Code: Enabling Big Dreams

When we founded C Girls Code, one of the first questions we asked ourselves was what as a group we had to offer others. We thought about workshops, conferences, study groups, etc. However, all these activities would take us a while and we wanted to start with something and get the word out about our organization. Then, Karen said, "Let’s do an Hour of Code", and as always, she made it sound so simple. Indeed, to host an Hour of Code is usually very simple because Code.org already has everything well structured and provides materials. So having an Hour of Code anywhere at any time is really easy, you just need a computer with Internet access and the entertainment starts follows.

One of C Girls Code main goals is that members develop new skills, and that starts at the events we organize, such as the Hour of Code. Coordinating an Hour of Code open to the general public requires promotion and sponsorship in order to make it happen. In this sense in just a few weeks, there was a lot for me to learn. Managing the media, requesting sponsorship, contacting suppliers, coordinating the setup of the event facilities and resources were things that I had never done before.

In the process, besides promotion and coordination skills, I have learned another very important aspect. First, thanks to Alma, I learned to dream big. Second, I could observe how a philanthropic project with practical impact can impact people. Over these past weeks, we´ve contacted people we already knew but also, we met new people, all of whom showed an interest in our cause and the event. Some of them helped us as sponsors and with promotion, while others, started a relationship as collaborators for future community events and to keep growing the C Girls Code project.

I’m so excited to see how much we can achieve with the support and willingness of others and I foresee that a lot of good things will come from C Girls Code. At the past Hour of Code, we had 45 attendants from participants, to instructors to companions. The participants learned basic programming concepts, which just that we have achieved a lot, but learning computer programming basics is not the only thing we got out of it. The Hour of Code allowed us to influence people, get us coverage and generate new relationships that have the potential to collaborate with C Girls Code on future projects. Thanks to all who supported us in the process, and to all who participated in the event, that is our motivation to keep dreaming big.