The following organizations need volunteers! If you are interested please contact the respective organization using the contact information listed below.
CHOMOZA STEM LAB
Contact: Ladi Musiba – ladimusiba@gmail.com
About: Our CHOMOZA STEM LAB has remained a sanctuary, a safe space where girls come to explore the world of electronics and everyday science by working with tools, assembling circuits, doing science experiments, making or breaking stuff to understand what makes it tick and above all, by making mistakes fearlessly.We try to make knowledge about Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects accessible and attractive for the girls by using fun, alternative tools and models. By using tools and building things, the girls get confidence in their ability and a sense of satisfaction.
Why the Lab?: We ran a study in five government schools and one private school followed by workshops to answer – What were the reasons for girls from an underprivileged background not choosing STEM courses, especially Science and Maths ? The key findings were, Girls are unable to develop an interest or aptitude for STEM owing to parental pressure to drop out of education or pursue arts, home science and other “feminine” streams, lack of infrastructural support in schools, lack of role models in STEM fields and discouragement from teachers. The study also revealed that pressure of household chores and restrictions on mobility was not allowing girls to explore their potential. Home and school work hand-in-hand and increase a girl’s fear for subjects like science and maths. This leads her to believe that these are subjects meant only for boys to study and excel in.
Where are we today?: The Chomoza STEM Lab runs as a safe, educative space to create the change we want to see in our community and society. In spite of challenges of funds, girls dropping out, non-acceptance by community members as our girls were becoming confident, mobile and independent, we have been striving ahead. After 2 years of hard work, it is going so well that six of the girls have stopped taking private tuition classes after school because they feel their understanding of concepts has improved due to the Chomoza STEM Lab. The Lab is now so popular in the community that parents, who were earlier skeptical, now take immense pride in their daughters achievements and take interest in everything that the girls learn.
How can you help?: We welcome volunteers to bring in new ideas of STEM projects. Anyone who is willing to work with the girls on a hands-on STEM project is welcome. Donations of working technology items like phones, computers, tool sets, will also help.
Brave Initiatives Event: Brave Bash 2020
*Volunteers Needed*
- Event: Brave Bash 2020
- Date: March 6, 2020
- Time: 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
- Location: Uptake (600 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60654)
Brave Bash is our annual fundraising event. We invite guests to hear from the impact that Brave Initiatives has on our students and celebrate the work we’ve done this past year. The purpose of the event is to raise as much money as we can to cover the cost of running BraveCamps during the summer so they are free for our students, who predominantly come from low-income communities, to attend. During BraveCamps, students learn design thinking, coding, and leadership skills which they use to build a website or an app addressing issues in their communities, ranging from gun violence to clean food.
Food will be provided for volunteers.
Volunteer HERE
Brave Initiatives Brave offers an empowering and transformative one-week experience where girls not only learn how to code but also to learn that their voice matters and that they can make a difference. Through an emphasis on design thinking, empathy development, and leadership skills, Brave challenges girls towards building ethical technology with a meaningful purpose. Since we were founded in 2015, we’ve reached over 500+ girls.