Texas Instruments is reinventing the way their staff experience corporate social responsibility – finding meaningful opportunities for employees to leverage personal skills to meaningfully contribute to existing needs in our community. Over the last year, TI and Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas (GSNETX) joined forces to introduce more girls to coding using TI graphing calculators.
As part of the strategic partnership, TI created Coding for Good, a volunteer-led program that teaches basic coding skills in a fun and engaging way by incorporating challenges, including creating a number guessing game, a meme, and a self-portrait generator. TI provides flexible options for Girl Scouts to earn a special badge, including self-paced instructions, kits, and troop workshops facilitated by TI staffers.
The program enabled girls to experience science and technology in a hands-on, minds-on way so they could build confidence in a field that may otherwise be intimidating. Girl Scout Troop #1517 took on the challenge and, while it was advanced, they felt inspired by the opportunity to learn from real leaders in STEM
“It was a joy to work with Girl Scout troop leaders to provide their girls with opportunities to code and introduce them to foundational skills they can build on to pursue a career in STEM,” said Pareesa Schulte, education technology consultant with TI.
Representatives from TI said the program gave them a major positivity boost and loved seeing how the initiative empowered young girls to get excited about STEM.
GSNETX CEO Jennifer Bartkowski encourages companies to rethink, reframe and rebuild through CSR initiatives that inspire and engage their employees in ways that are meaningful to the employee and the company.
“The COVID-19 pandemic turned how we think, how we act, and how we strategize on its head,” said Jennifer. “It created more room for innovation in problem-solving. Now is the time to rethink how you accomplish your goals, how you give back to your community, and how you work to develop the next generation of leaders.”
