The Boys & Girls Club just “coded” a new program to an organization that’s been serving Muncie for more than 20 years.
This year, Ryan Hunter, a board member and volunteer, started a coding team, with hopes to give more students a chance to learn how to code.
“We felt that it was a good way to introduce some of those skills to students who may not have the opportunity outside of the Boys & Girls Clubs to get that opportunity and see what coding is about,” Hunter said.
At the club, students from kindergarten to senior year have a place to come after school, make friends, study and more. Hunter supports because he believes in the mission.
“The Boys & Girls Club is a passion of mine and think it’s very important to give back to the club,” Hunter said.
While Hunter doesn’t think the kids will necessarily go into coding, the skills they’re picking up can benefit them in many ways. According to a study from Ramussen College, coding skills mean increased pay in certain jobs, a constant growth in professions related to computers, problem solving skills are developed in unique ways and coding is used in professions not related to computers like business and marketing.
This is good for long time Boys & Girls Club member Triston Fleming because he wasn’t even sure what he was signing up for.
“My mom just signed me up. I didn’t know that there was one [a coding team],” Fleming said.
Now, he’s a valuable member of the team learning how to write computer code, how to take that code and program remote controls and how to improve the team robot in ability and agility. It’s a process that keeps them busy.
“We just keep on trying different things until it works,” Fleming said.
The Club is able to offer this program because of a grant from Techpoint Foundation for Youth in Indianapolis. The grant provided the materials the kids use to code and program the robot. Another requirement is to compete in a coding competition throughout the state. For Fleming, he’s just excited to see how many they can win as a team.
In addition to the coding team, the club has also launched a music program and dance team this year to their daily programming.
