NORTH CAROLINA -- For cousins and North Carolina residents Ebony and Linnae Dolby, a little time in the classroom this summer may provide a tiny glimpse into the future.
"A lot of children nowadays, they're like making thousands of dollars doing things that they love. Just simple things like making apps, websites. So I think it's good we're learning this at such a young age,” says Raleigh resident Ebony Dolby.
"Black Girls Code" Camp is partnering with sponsor Verizon to help teach young African-American women tech and coding skills.
21-students aged 13 to 17 will create their own apps, blogs and even participate in a workshop on entrepreneurship.
"So being able to present their ideas to a group of people that they don't know, about funders, so if they're given $10,000 for their app, what would they do with it?,” says “Black Girls Code” Program Coordinator Lake Raymond.
The foundation says that only three percent of engineering and computer science degrees were provided to minority women over the past few years.
"When you think about some of the girls coming from what we would consider to be under served areas, this is a huge benefit to them to be able to graduate from college in a STEM career and hopefully be able to help themselves and help their families,” says Director of Education for Verizon Foundation Justine Nixon-Saintil.
And organizers say they’re excited to launch the program in a tech-center such as the Raleigh-Durham area and they say the demand for coding skill jobs will remain high.
Organizers for “Black Girls Code” say this is a crucial time in history for STEM occupations. It’s a field that’s projected to grow by 17% from 2008 to 2018.