Talk:Girls2Geeks (PPS)

Other groups that could potentially work with

Women's shelters, transition houses

Questions we wanted to have committees answer

• Has anything like this been done before? If so, how could this go wrong?
  • We have had schools come through, but not targeted specifically at girls. - Laurel
  • From a convo with Liane a few months back: Computers for Kids had issues because of timing and transportation to Free Geek
• Do you have suggestions for what day of the week would work best for this program?
  • Our gut instinct is Thursday; start on the 24th
• Is June through July a good time of year to do this? We're thinking of making it a summer program so that it won't conflict with school.
  • Summer program is an excellent idea, fits in well with summer camp mentality - Ali
  • No problem with june or july - Laurel
• We'd like your input on what to do if someone misses a class?
  • If someone misses a class, it's the responsibility of the other pairs to catch them up.
• Suggestions on what age range we should do: just middle school? just high school? both?
  • I would say middle and high school age girls - Ali
• Can both the girls and the mentors get computers?
  • All volunteers participating can earn computers, mentors and mentees alike - Ali & Laurel
• Should an adoption class be required if they're doing build? What about command line? Can we help teach the adoption class as assistants?
  • I don't think the Adoption Class is necessary if they are completing the Build program - Ali
  • They do not need to take a regular adoption class, they'll have their own adoption class; the NPAs can help as assistants in adoption class - Laurel

Other Feedback

• From Caitlin:
  • One thing you should know re:build is that it will be nearly impossible for volunteers to have a set amount of computers to build in a class. It can sometimes take an entire shift to QC 1 computer, while other times you can build 4 computers in the same amount of time. I would suggest leaving the program end date open-ended, or base it on time as opposed to systems built.
• From Laurel/Knowledge Bees:
  • We advise mentors and mentees to do the work (take up 2 slots per pair). If they all sign up, then they will fill up pre-build and build.
• From Liane:
  • Mentors have lives, too — they work. Usually a mentor only does 1 hour per week, so set this expectation up right away that it'll be more.
  • Might want to seek more experienced mentor pairs so that they have an established relationship (otherwise, when it's first beginning, sometimes the kids forget that they're supposed to meet)
  • In order to become a mentor, there's a $60 background check. Work with Oregon Mentors; see if it can get waived? Apply for a grant??
  • Might want to shorten the shifts to 2.5 hours rather than 4 in order to cater to the kids' attention spans
  • Get 6 or 7 pairs to commit rather than just 4 initially because people might drop out