Sto Rox Coding Club began over one year ago and has developed over the year to have a dedicated space, “DigiLab” in the basement of the Father Ryan Arts Center. The space was equipped with 12 laptops, 6 ipads, multimedia projector, tables with comfortable chairs and a smartboard. The room and equipment were purchased with the Sprout Funds “My Brothers Keeper” Grant which was awarded to group effort of the Father Ryan Center and the AIU#3 Alternative Education Program.  The club has been volunteer driven and there is no fee to attend.

Sto Rox Coding Club is now going into its second year and it has several young people who have been members of the group since its inception. These young people have spent their time Wednesday afterschool learning and exploring coding using the following , Code.org. Bitsbox.com, PencilCode.net, Khan Academy and programming Robots (Sphero, Ollie, R2-D2 and BB-8) using the Sphero.edu app. Many of these original members have been working  hard and are ready to take their learning to a new level.

The purpose of pursuing the IOBY Allegheny County Community Development Challenge will to be for teams of the young people from the Wednesday Coding Club to hold ongoing  Community Workshops similar to the national “Hour of Code” in which they will do regular and ongoing introductory learning activities for community members to introduce more people to the basics of coding. Club members who hold these workshops will earn stipends, or gift cards for holding the workshops. Club members will be responsible for promoting the events, taking a role of participants, opening and closing the computer lab and making sure all equipment is properly returned. Club members will be motivated by to opportunity to share what they are learning about coding, and they will be rewarded for sharing their knowledge with others with the stipend. Club members will also get to learn and practice soft skills with the attendees, these skills  are critical for success in life and in  the workplace.