STEM program for girls Rosie Riveters has wish list fulfilled by Amazon for a holiday surprise
As young as age 4, girls who are part of the nonprofit Rosie Riveters know they have the power to tackle any job and to change the world.
"Critical thinking, problem solving, being OK with failure, really instilling in girls that they may not know but I know I can figure it out," Brittany Greer, executive director and founder of Rosie Riveters said of the skills the nonprofit teaches. "If you unlock that, you can literally do anything."
The Virginia-based nonprofit organization, whose mission is to provide a creative space for girls ages 4 to 14 to develop skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), has served over 600 girls in the Arlington and Fairfax communities since 2016.
The hands-on projects range from learning topics such as binary code, electricity and circuits, creating drawing robots and even sending a doll all the way into space. The exercises are designed so that students are challenged, often getting it wrong before they get it right, the group says, learning an important life lesson.
"They are learning 100% confidence," Rosie Riveters instructor Jodie Forman said. "At the beginning their vocabulary is ‘I can't do this. I can't do this.' And at the end, they are like, ‘Oh my god! Look what I just did!' Their smiles are lighting up the room and you can just tell how great they feel about themselves."
"To see kids with the light on their face when they figure something out," said Yvonne Wilson, a parent to a child in the program, "it's amazing."
Today, women only make up 28% of the science and engineering workforce, according to a 2018 National Science Board report, but this group hopes to change that.
"Here is a place they can totally be themselves, they can be confident, they can experiment," Rosie Riveters Board President Katie Rieder told "GMA." "There are unfortunately not a lot of spaces like this and we wanted to create that space."
But there are limitations to what the nonprofit can do in terms of free programming for girls without additional funding and resources. The cost of computers, batteries for robots, magnets and more of the supplies required to bring these inventive STEM projects to life add up quickly. In Arlington, the group said their waitlist is approximately 300 girls long.
To celebrate the season of giving, Amazon surprised the nonprofit live on "Good Morning America" by fulfilling their entire wish list with these essential supplies – computers, printers, batteries, magnets and much more -- all to continue their mission.
Amazon, which is a sponsor of "Good Morning America," is delivering smiles this holiday, surprising hundreds of different charitable groups across the country by donating products on their AmazonSmile Charity Lists. The charitable groups range from those focused on STEM education, like Rosie Riveters, to others fighting homelessness, hunger and much more.
Since the holidays are all about giving back and paying it forward, Amazon is inviting customers to also give back through their AmazonSmile Charity Lists program, where nonprofits make wish lists of needed items and people can donate directly to the charity, Kate Scarpa, an Amazon spokesperson, explained on "GMA."
That's not all. Amazon also had a holiday surprise in store for one of the schools, Abingdon Elementary in Arlington, Virginia, that partners with Rosie Riveters.
Amazon surprised Abingdon Elementary School teacher Jordan Kivitz, who leads the school's STEAM lab for science, technology, engineering, arts and math, where kids learn about robotics, rocket science, 3D design and more with a 3D printer to further their program.
Amazon is a sponsor of "Good Morning America."
