$50,000 by the New Year!

Yesterday we released our ScriptEd annual report for Giving Tuesday, and launched our holiday fundraising campaign.  Our goal is to raise $50,000 -- the same amount we raised last year -- by midnight on New Years Eve.

We had a great start! Yesterday we raised about $3,000.  I'm competing in the New York City Triathlon this July as part of my fundraiser.  You can donate here.

This is why you should consider supporting us and making an investment in the future of the tech work force (even Karlie Kloss is on board!):

When Liz and I started ScriptEd in 2012, we had collectively worked with nearly a thousand students from low-income communities. None of these students had access to computer science or software development education in their schools or communities.

This was (and still is) a problem. In the US, we don’t have the capacity to meet current labor market demands in the tech industry. By the year 2020, 1 million jobs will go unfilled in the tech industry.

This isn't just a labor market problem - it's also an equity problem. The tech industry is wildly undiverse. The US is not doing a good enough job preparing students from underrepresented backgrounds for careers in technology, and they must be represented in the field. The creators of technology hold our futures in their code. Existing technology defines what we can do and how we interact. New technologies define the parameters -- so to speak -- of everything.

By teaching students from all backgrounds computer science, we will build a future in which our technology creators are fueled by a diversity of experience and thought.

That's why we started ScriptEd.

With your support, ScriptEd can reach more volunteers, teach more classes, partner with more schools, identify more mentors, and arrange more paid internships.

Even if you can't donate, we can still use your help. Tell your software developer friends about ScriptEd and ask them if they're interested in volunteering. Or, post one of these blurbs below to Twitter or Facebook.

• I’m proud to support @ScriptEdOrg, teaching #NYC students to code. You can help too by donating: bit.ly/1NDOPZj
• How can you give back this holiday season? Make your mark for #NYC #tech students & donate to @ScriptEdOrg! bit.ly/1NDOPZj

Thanks for your support!