Partnership between HoHoTO and YWCA Toronto's Girls' Centre to provide over 350 girls with new opportunities in business and tech
TORONTO, Nov. 24, 2016 /CNW/ - On Thursday, December 1, 2016, HoHoTO will bring together the city's connected community of marketers, entrepreneurs, designers, and developers in support of its ongoing partnership with YWCA Toronto's Girls' Centre, a safe female-only space for girls aged nine to 18. This year's event, held at the MOD Club, will fund a partnership program, which will provide over 350 girls the opportunity to explore careers in Toronto's tech industry. Throughout 2017, Girls' Centre participants will embark on tech tours across Toronto, partner with female mentors, and learn about new career avenues from some of Toronto's top female entrepreneurs and professionals working in the tech industry.
"HoHoTO's mission has always been to help the Toronto tech community realize its potential by connecting current professionals, while above all striving to attract a generation of new ones," said Lee Dale, HoHoTO co-chair. "Our partnership with YWCA Toronto's Girls' Centre and the mentorship program will empower young women to learn about opportunities available in tech and, more importantly, go after them."
| WHAT |
9th Annual HoHoTO holiday fundraising event |
| Ticket sales will fund the 2017 mentorship program in partnership with YWCA Toronto's Girls' Centre |
|
| WHEN |
Thursday, December 1, 2016 from 7:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m. |
| WHERE |
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| Tickets can be purchased online at hohoto.ca/tickets *Early bird tickets can be purchased at a discounted rate before November 28* |
To launch the 2017 program, HoHoTO hosted the "Girls' Tech Tour" on Friday, November 18, with 20 young women from YWCA Toronto's Girls' Centre. The tour included visits to eight Toronto tech companies across the financial, health, design, and media sectors, including ecobee, Kanetix, muse, RateHub, and Nuvango. The tour allowed the girls to engage with female leaders in a real-world setting, providing them with the opportunity to learn how tech companies operate and see the kinds of career paths available to them now and in the future.
"The Girls' Centre has always provided girls with a safe place to try new activities and develop learning skills, and our partnership with HoHoTO is an extension of our efforts to open doors and provide opportunities for young women in Toronto," said Maureen Adams, Director of Advocacy and Communications, YWCA Toronto. "This partnership allows the girls to envision themselves in tech-based roles, and provides them access to strong, successful women who can share with them tools, guidance, and relevant information they need to pursue digital careers."
To date, HoHoTO has raised over $400,000 through its annual holiday event in support of the Toronto community. Through the partnership with YWCA Toronto's Girls' Centre, HoHoTO will help empower girls to discover careers in technology, providing support and opportunity to a new generation of professionals, not just during the holidays, but year-round.
Important Links
Companies can apply to participate in Girls' Tech Tour by emailing: [email protected].
Female professionals can apply to become a mentor by emailing: [email protected].
Sponsorship opportunities are also available starting from $250. Full sponsorship details can be found in HoHoTO's Sponsorship PDF.
Twitter: www.twitter.com/HoHoTO
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HoHoTOHoHoTO
Instagram: www.instagram.com/HoHoTOHoHoTO
Hashtag: #hohoto, #girlstechtour
To learn more about HoHoTO please visit: HoHoTO.ca
To learn more about YWCA Toronto's Girls' Centre Toronto, please visit: ywcatoronto.org
About HoHoTO
HoHoTO started as a casual remark in a Twitter discussion in 2008 and grew at great speed to become Toronto's biggest holiday fundraiser for the geek community, almost overnight. The annual fundraiser supported by Toronto's vibrant and thriving tech community donates sponsorship and ticket sales proceeds to provide opportunities to the young women of YWCA Toronto's Girls' Centre. HoHoTO has been cited as one of the first and best examples of the power of self-organizing online groups to make a real-world difference. The event has been profiled as a best-practice use of Twitter and social media in best-selling business books, recognized by Queen Rania of Jordan as an example of social media influencing online activism, and endorsed by Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter, Rick Mercer, David Miller, Don Tapscott, Reddit's Alexis Ohanian, Cory Doctorow, David Weinberger, and others.
About YWCA Toronto's Girls' Centre
YWCA Toronto's Girls' Centre is a girls-only space. At the Girls' Centre, girls 9 to 18 years of age try new activities, develop skills and discuss topics in a safe place. Girls build leadership skills, enhance their self-esteem, learn to live safely in their communities, make new friends, and learn to understand and challenge the world around them. Girls and young women receive support on difficult issues, share ideas, express creativity, explore interests and plan their futures. And they have a lot of fun! All YWCA Toronto's Girls' Centre programs are free.
SOURCE HoHoTO
Video with caption: "Video: HoHoTO funds "Girls' Tech Tour" and 2017 program with Girls' Centre participants aged 13-18". Video available at: http://stream1.newswire.ca/cgi-bin/playback.cgi?file=20161124_C2116_VIDEO_EN_825684.mp4&posterurl=http%3A%2F%2Fphotos.newswire.ca%2Fimages%2F20161124_C2116_PHOTO_EN_825684.jpg&order=1&jdd=20161124&cnum=C2116
Image with caption: "HoHoTO (CNW Group/HoHoTO)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20161124_C2116_PHOTO_EN_825682.jpg
Charlene D'Aoust, 88 Creative, PR Director, 416-944-2722, C 647-920-0836, [email protected]
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