One of my favorite gatherings every year at WWDC is the App Camp for Girls benefit party/concert. This year it is on Wednesday, June 7 and tickets are still available.
In addition to great music and a great cause, this year the event will also serve as a semi-formal Relay FM meet-up. I, along with several other Relay hosts, will be hanging out so join us and meet up with fellow listeners starting at 7pm. See you there.
App Camp is just a little over $25K away from its funding goal and there are five days left. It's not too late to help out.
Jean MacDonald was at WWDC a few years back and looked around to see almost no women in the room. So she left her company, started a non-profit called App Camp For Girls and, over the past few years, started making her very own serious dent in the universe. Now they've released an app, The App Camp for Girls Quiz Compendium (App Store), that includes some of the quiz apps the girls have built in recent camp sessions. It's just a buck and supports an excellent cause. When it comes to App Camp for Girls, I'm invested. I've donated and it even looks like my wife is going to be helping them set up a Southern California App Camp For Girls next year. I'm absolutely convinced that WWDC in 2025 will have a lot more women in the room and Jean MacDonald will play a role in that. Why don't you help her out and buy the app?
App Camp for Girls was a big success at Macworld this year. Below is a video my daughter, Samantha, produced. I think the video is great. Samantha thinks it's terrible. (She didn't have media badge and had to ditch her tripod to avoid getting booted out.) Also, did you know App Camp for Girls is doing a second session this year in Seattle? It sounds like a great opportunity if you are in the area.
App Camp for Girls and Macworld/iWorld are joining forces this year to offer a special App Camp for Girls on March 29 right in Moscone Center during Macworld. They are looking for girls 12 and up to come and learn about app development. If you were already thinking about going to Macworld, why not bring your daughter along so she can join in the geek-fest. That's what I'm doing. Girls planning on attending the App Camp can get a free pass with this link.
We need more women in tech. Everyone agrees but few people have done much to change things. Then there is Jean MacDonald. I've been closely following Jean's progress with App Camp 4 Girls. I love both what she is doing and the passion she brings to the job. Today Jean announced she is making App Camp 4 Girls her full time gig and I think it is great.
The Sparks family just contributed for a second time to Jean MacDonald's App Camp for Girls project. There are only five days left on the Indiegogo project and they are almost at their $100,000 expanded goal. I got to watch Jean talk to 3,000 people last weekend about this project and I saw the pictures of the girls at the camp and this project is truly worthy of support. Don't believe me? Ask The New Yorker.
My friend Jean MacDonald was attending WWDC a few years ago and looked around the room. It dawned on her that she could only find three women in the room (including herself). Most people would say, “somebody should do something about that”. Jean said, “I’m going to fix that”. She’s doing just that. For the last year she has put many hours into creating App Camp for Girls. It's a fun place where girls put their geek on and make iPhone apps. It’s happening. It’s for real. Jean is now looking for help from the community. We need more women developers and this is your chance to pitch in. Check out the website and consider donating.