“My daughter was a part of the summer program for two summers, and she was a troubled girl,” said one mom after her hand shot up into the sky. “I want to testify. They are real, and they aren't making any of this up! My daughter just landed her first career job working in the IT department making an impressive starting salary! My daughter is 23.”
What program was this mother talking about? It’s Digital Girl, the 2014 program founded by Michelle Gall to encourage inner-city youth, especially girls, to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.
The mother credited Digital Girl for setting her on this path despite some of the conflicts she may have caused while in the program.
In a recent interview with Revivn, Digital Girl founder Michelle commented on this story, saying “We saw the growth in her. It really inspired us. We were so happy we handled the situation the way we did. We went with our hearts, and it worked out. Really proud to hear she was doing so well.”
Since its founding in 2014, Digital Girl has expanded into a huge organization with 10 staff members, working at 15 different schools, and serving over 7,000 in the organization’s 7-year history. Each student who enrolled in the Digital Girl program has been impacted by the non-profit.
Revivn prides itself on making stories like this possible through our Tech Access program that helps enable non-profit organizations, like Digital Girl, to make a difference in children’s lives.
Now, this is how our partner relationship with Digital Girl came to be.
In 2017, Digital Girl was invited to attend a Borough-wide event hosted by then Brooklyn Borough President, and now Brooklyn mayor-elect, Eric L. Adams. The event would host a variety of tech companies, and at this event, Michelle and her team met, Jocelyn Leavitt, the founder of Hopscotch – a programming app for kids, allowing them to design, code, and share their own art and games.
While discussing some of the roadblocks Digital Girl was facing, the Digital Girl, Inc. team shared with Jocelyn that they were experiencing setbacks due to a lack of accessible technology. Devices such as tablets and laptops are crucial for the Digital Girl program as this is how they run the software for the students. Jocelyn had just the solution – Revivn.
Michelle reached out to Revivn shortly after the event, and she was partnered with one of Revivn’s Tech Access team members. Met with enthusiasm, Michelle worked with Revivn to receive the donation that would best suit Digital Girl’s needs – tablets for the students to access the organization’s programming.
“You know it's really a game-changer for us as a nonprofit. We don't charge students for our programming. What we do is we bring the programming and then we find a way to support the program so every little bit counts. We’re going to schools where they don't have the technology. We were so thankful for that donation and the students - I mean who doesn't like working on an iPad right? They see it and they're like yeah whatever just bring the iPad, and then they start using the program, and they're like this is really cool,” Michelle shared with the Revivn team.
Like many other organizations, Digital Girl Inc. was faced with the trials and tribulations of the pandemic. With children unable to go to school, Digital Girl Inc. was unable to meet their students in the classroom, and many of their students were struggling to have access to devices to do their schoolwork at home. Revivn donated additional funds to help support Digital Girl Inc.’s virtual program and provide students with access to devices compatible with their schoolwork programs and the Digital Girl program, enabling their success during this unpredictable time.
When asked why she believes companies should partner with Revivn, Michelle stated, “Because Revivn is helping nonprofit organizations change the life trajectory of students in inner-city who don’t think they make a difference or don't have these opportunities. We’re giving them the opportunity to dream. What is life if you cannot dream about being something bigger? About being a greater good in the world? That’s why we have Digital Girl Inc. and other organizations like ours that really want to make a difference. And your donation helps the world.”
