| Entrepreneurs and small businesses are the engines of our global economy. To continue our economic prosperity and job creation, we should all help nurture the entrepreneurial spirit of young people and support the digital literacy skills required to thrive in a connected world. The world is already predicting a labor shortage in technical jobs, so it is crucial that we provide girls with opportunities and education in STEM fields—science, technology, engineering and math. According to the National Science Foundation, only 13 percent of engineers are female, and the first step to changing that is putting technology in the hands of girls and getting them excited about it. |  |
| Dell’s Youth Learning program is focused on increase young people’s access to technology to prepare them for success in a 21st century, digital world. As part of the Youth Learning program, Dell provided funding for two important programs with the Girl Scouts of the USA to promote entrepreneurship and STEM skills among girls, the Be The Video Game Developer and more recently, Digital Cookie 2.0. Dell is thrilled to help provide access to technology to girls across the country, and give them the chance to use the Digital Cookie 2.0 platform to help gain vital skills, grow their businesses and test their entrepreneurial spirit. The Girl Scout Cookie Program has always been about so much more than just cookies—by providing girls the opportunity to have hands-on experience running a business, they’re given the opportunity to learn what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. By supporting Girl Scouts' Digital Cookie 2.0 program, Dell is helping girls expand their existing cookie businesses and preparing them to be future female business leaders. In addition to helping fund the development of Digital Cookie 2.0 and its App, Dell is also donating tablets to Girl Scout troops in underserved communities, enabling hundreds of girls to build vital business skills needed in today’s marketplace. | |
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| Last year, Digital Cookie 1.0 gave girls the opportunity to sell cookies via a website or mobile app. This initiative was a first step in preparing girls to be leaders in the high-tech, fast-paced, e-commerce world of today. Digital Cookie 2.0 is a multichannel, entrepreneurial program for girls in grades K–12, and each girl’s experience is customized to her age level. The website provides a robust, hands-on, and entertaining learning experience, including fun quizzes, games, videos, and other activities that offer girls opportunities to learn budgeting and resource allocation using a “spend, save, and give” model. Digital Cookie 2.0 also contains several enhancements that reinforce the essential five skills of Girl Scout programs — goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics. Working with the Girl Scouts is one example of how Dell is working to reach one of its 2020 Legacy of Good goals: to apply our expertise and technology in underserved communities to help 3 million youth directly and support 10 million people indirectly to grow and thrive by 2020. To learn about other ways Dell’s Legacy of Good goals are paying off for customers, communities and the planet, visit www.dell.com/legacyofgoodupdate. | |
