Charity Spotlight: STEM From Dance
STEM From Dance gives girls of color access to a STEM education through the power of dance
Black and Latina women comprise 15% of the US population but only 4% of the STEM workforce. STEM professions feature some of our country’s most high-impact and lucrative jobs, but women of color encounter barriers to entering STEM fields due to lack of confidence, readiness, and awareness. Girls of color are often the hardest to reach and share the burdens associated with generational poverty, marginalization, and social injustice.
Many minority girls from low-income areas don’t dream of being scientists or engineers; not because they are unable, but because of access, belief, and skills.
STEM From Dance gives girls of color access to a STEM education by using dance to empower, educate, and encourage them as our next generation of engineers, scientists, and techies. To date, they have served over 30 schools and worked with 450 girls.
STEM From Dance delivers a cohesive learning experience in which dance is used to introduce girls of color to the wonder and creativity of STEM and build confidence and STEM awareness. Girls choreograph an original dance and create a technological component that blend into a fascinating dance-tech performance. In addition to learning software and electrical engineering principles, STEM From Dance equips girls with skills to become future STEM leaders and financially-resilient adults through confidence-building activities, field trips to STEM companies, and talks with women in STEM.
Why dance?
For about 75% of participants, STEM From Dance is their first experience coding. Further, about 75% cite dance as the primary reason for joining the program. The program has the unique opportunity to reach an historically underrepresented population through an innovative approach. As well, the confidence participants gain transforms them into students who are more likely to ask questions, take risks in the classroom, tackle new endeavors, persist through confusion, and explore their intellectual curiosity – all characteristics of students who excel in STEM.
Goodnation is proud to feature STEM From Dance under the Women and Girls and Youth Development causes on the Goodnation Platform.
To make a meaningful impact through STEM From Dance or other high-performing nonprofits, tell us a little more about yourself and we’ll be in touch.
