Mighty Ruby Tuesday Event Raises Funds for Training Women Programmers

Benefit for the RailsBridge Open Workshop Project Aims to Raise $10,000

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – May 24, 2010 – SFRuby Workshops, a volunteer effort dedicated to training women programmers, announces its first crowd fundraiser, Mighty Ruby Tuesday on May 25, 2010 at Mighty in San Francisco.  The event will call attention to the rewards that await women in computer programming careers and raise funds for another year of free training workshops for women in the Ruby language.  It will feature four female DJs in the drive to inspire financial support beyond the corporate sponsorships that have made the first year of the workshops possible.

An effort of the RailsBridge Open Workshop Project, the SFRuby Workshops have trained more than 300 women in Ruby on Rails since 2009.  Initiated in San Francisco, workshops also have been held at Harvard University last October and at Pace University in New York City last week.  The workshops are staffed by volunteer teachers who work with participants in small groups that are organized around participants’ skill levels.  The teams developed a curriculum and basic structure for teaching Ruby that is fully documented and open source.

“In creating these workshops, we wanted to do something by women, for women, with help from a lot of guys,” said Sarah Allen, President of RailsBridge.  “As an open source community effort, Ruby is a great first programming language, and Rails is practical for entrepreneurs seeking to build their own web apps and for software developers who want to update their skills. Ruby on Rails presents a strong career opportunity to women today.”

“The need for Ruby developers grows every day, and our sponsors have been with us every step of the way in helping us get more women into the workforce,” said Sarah Mei, Secretary of RailsBridge and Open Workshop Projects lead.  “While our sponsors remain crucial to our work, this event invites the community at large to be part of the financial engine that keeps the workshops going.”

Sponsors are of the Ruby on Rails Workshops are Heroku, EngineYard, Scribd, Pivotal Labs, Orange Labs, Honk, slideshare, balsamiq, RubyMine, vodpad, PeepCode, Stormweight, and Manning Publications Co.  The workshops also have supporting partner organizations in DevChix, San Francisco Women on the Web and Women 2.0.

About Mighty Ruby Tuesday

Mighty Ruby Tuesday, a benefit for the RailsBridge Open Workshop Project, will take place at San Francisco’s Mighty, 119 Utah Street, in San Francisco from 8:00 pm until midnight.  Tickets are available in advance for $15 by visiting http://mightyrubytuesday.eventbrite.com; at the door, the price is $20.  Corporate and group sponsorships are available for a donation of $250 or more.

About RailsBridge Open Workshop Project

Based in San Francisco, California, the RailsBridge Open Workshop Project has created replicable recipes for successful events.  The SFRuby Workshops, created by Sarah Mei and Sarah Allen, focus on gender equality and women in technology.  The RailsBridge mission is to bridge the gap between aspiring developer and contributing community member through mentoring, teaching and writing.  For more information, visit http://railsbridge.org. The Ruby On Rails Workshops are free, and men are welcome to attend as the +1 of women attending the workshops.  For more information, visit http://sfrubyworkshops.com and http://wiki.railsbridge.org/projects/railsbridge/wiki/Workshops.