As we head into the holidays and the season of giving I want to tell you about two different groups of friends of mine who are representing Detroit in a remarkable way while doing good.
First up are the girls, Girls in Tech specifically. The Detroit chapter of Girls in Tech (GIT Detroit) launched earlier this month with Audrey Walker as Managing Director and Nikki Stephan, Jenni Murray, Trisha Verma, and Sarah Worsham rounding out the board. I’m extremely lucky to call all of these women friends.
“There are so many women in southeast Michigan who work in the technology field, and I felt there were a lack of organizations that catered to our demographic,” said Walker.
“Some of our goals as we get this chapter up and running include creating a mentorship program and scholarship, hosting networking events, serving as a support group for women in tech fields and helping to strengthen our local community. We’ll also use the national group as a platform to help get the word out about Detroit and our strong tech and digital community.”
Although the chapter just launched they’re already making Detroit a better place with their Laptops for Ladies initiative.
Laptops for Ladies is a charity drive to re-home unused laptops to under-served women and girls in the metro Detroit area. GIT Detroit will distribute the donated laptops to mothers at Lighthouse of Oakland County and girls from the Detroit Public School District via Reality Check Detroit.
If you or your company have just updated to a new machine please consider donating your old laptop to GIT Detroit. Check the Laptops for Ladies website for more information.
And then there are my male friends. November, no more! This is now the month of Movember where men go retro and make a statement by growing a mustache (or mo) to raise awareness for prostate cancer.
Ryan Meray sporting his goatee & Dave Murray with a bit of fuzz.
Just as the pink ribbon raises awareness for breast cancer, men all over the world are growing and wearing their mustache as a facial ribbon. Team Backchannel Detroit includes many of my friends including David Lingholm, Ryan Meray, Henry Balanon, and Dave Murray.
The stache may look silly but the statistics aren’t.
According the the American Cancer Society, In 2010:
- About 217,730 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed
- About 32,050 men will die of prostate cancer
Take a look at their day-by-day photos and donate to the cause. It doesn’t matter whether they’re sporting a Fu Manchu, a Dali, or a handlebar mustache; these men deserve great praise for standing up and growing fuzz to raise awareness.