ROCK ISLAND, ILLINOIS (May 20, 2019) — On Thursday, May 23, eight female students from Denkmann Elementary School will present a website they’ve coded over the past two quarters with IT professionals from Modern Woodmen of America.
Event background:
Kim Miers, a sixth-grade teacher at Denkmann, contacted Dave Geenen, executive director of the Doris and Victor Day Foundation, for activity ideas to incorporate with the school’sLEAD program (Learn, Enrich and Discover). Geenen recommended Girls Who Code, a national program that aims to close the gender gap in technology. After presenting the idea to her sixth-grade students, Miers had eight girls sign up.
To find tech professionals to lead the program, Geenen got in touch with Modern Woodmen’s Information Technology Department. Kelly Burns and Trish Ohland volunteered to help. Guided by the program available through the Girls Who Code website, Burns, Ohland and the eight students have met every other week for the past two school quarters to learn and prepare their presentation.
For the presentation event on May 23, the students will share the website they’ve coded through the program.
Event details:
Thursday, May 23, 12:30PM
Modern Woodmen of America’s home office auditorium
1701 First Avenue
Rock Island, IL 61201
Interview opportunities:
Student participants and their parents.
Modern Woodmen IT professionals and program leaders (Kelly Burns and Trish Ohland).
Rock Island mayor Mike Thoms.
About Modern Woodmen:
Modern Woodmen was founded in 1883 as a fraternal benefit society. The organization supports members, families and communities with a unique blend of financial services, fraternal benefits, and local-impact opportunities. In 2018, Modern Woodmen and its members provided $19.9 million and 470,000 volunteer hours to support fraternal activities and programs. Learn more at www.modernwoodmen.org.
