Trish Stevens Claire Downing Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone 800.854.2207 Fax
(This press release may be reprinted in part or entirety by any print or broadcast media outlet, or used by any means of social media sharing)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Code-At-Home Tech Toys Keep Girls Engaged, Away From Computer Screens, During COVID-19 School Closures
Are you looking for constructive ways to keep your children stimulated and engaged during the COVID-19 school shutdown? SmartGurlz founder Sharmi Albrechtsen beat out 40,000 other entrepreneurs on ABC’s Shark Tank and negotiated with guest “shark” Richard Branson, before closing a deal with Daymond John on her line of groundbreaking toys that use an award-winning robotics platform to teach basic coding skills to girls as young as 6.
“Many girls’ toys lag behind in the development of spatial skills, hands-on problem solving skills, and confidence with coding and computer science,” explains SmartGurlz founder Sharmi Albrechtsen. “These are exactly the skills that SmartGurlz aims to develop.”
The SmartGurlz line of unique, interactive, self-balancing robots and dolls are controlled with the SugarCoded™ App than can be downloaded onto an IOS or android phone or tablet that once downloaded requires no Wi-Fi, just Bluetooth.
A full, step-by-step tutorial teaches basic coding strategies so young girls can maneuver the toys around obstacle courses of their own design. With several levels of learning and chal-lenges, the toy keeps kids occupied several hours a week for 4-6 months.
The company is also offering a free weekly webinar for parents and kids affected by COVID- 19 that includes getting started, tips and tricks, and weekly home assignments.
Girls playing with SmartGurlz products learn three key concepts:
Spatial Reasoning. Girls learn how to direct/orient their robots in new environments and in-terpret maps.
Computer Programming. Girls learn to program their robots using our kid-friendly coding App called SugarCodedTM.
Storytelling & Problem Solving. Girls learn to tell stories and solve missions via coding.
The SmartGurlz product line also includes an e-book series available through the App that focuses on the everyday adventures of four talented young women studying at the fictional New York Institute of Technology — N.I.T.
We’re all adjusting to a new normal. You can use this extra time at home to inspire the female tech leaders of tomorrow with toys that integrate the power of play with the power of technology.
SmartGurlz CEO Sharmi Albrechtsen is a robotics aficionado, educator, author and mom with a passion for closing the diversity gap in technology.
In 2015, Sharmi started SmartGurlz after becoming frustrated with the lack of STEM toys available for her daughter. The SmartGurlz flagship product, Siggy, was the first robotics product designed specifically for girls. More than 30,000 girls have been educated with SmartGurlz. SmartGurlz partners include BlackGirlsCode, Girl Scouts of America and Morrison Mentors.
SmartGurlz recently expanded its product line to include Smart Buddies (a joint-venture with Pitsco Education), which features a diverse set of characters suitable for both girls and boys, targeted towards schools.
Sharmi was recently given AdWeek’s Disruptor Award in Championing Gender Diversity in Advertising and Tech. She has also been named Women Entrepreneur of the Year 2018 by the Asian Chamber of Commerce as well as named a Morgan Stanley Multi-Cultural Innovation Lab fellow. Sharmi has been featured in Forbes, Huffington Post, Financial Times, Fox Business News, Fox and Friends and CNN. She is also a featured TEDx speaker.
Trish Stevens Claire Downing Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone 800.854.2207 Fax
(This press release may be reprinted in part or entirety by any print or broadcast media outlet, or used by any means of social media sharing)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Code-At-Home Tech Toys Keep Girls Engaged, Away From Computer Screens, During COVID-19 School Closures
Are you looking for constructive ways to keep your children stimulated and engaged during the COVID-19 school shutdown? The line of groundbreaking toys from SmartGurlz Inc. uses an award-winning robotics platform to teach basic coding skills to girls as young as 6.
“Many girls’ toys lag behind in the development of spatial skills, hands-on problem solving skills, and confidence with coding and computer science,” explains SmartGurlz founder Sharmi Albrechtsen. “These are exactly the skills that SmartGurlz aims to develop.”
The SmartGurlz line of unique, interactive, self-balancing robots and dolls are controlled with the SugarCoded™ App than can be downloaded onto an IOS or android phone or tablet that once downloaded requires no Wi-Fi, just Bluetooth.
A full, step-by-step tutorial teaches basic coding strategies so young girls can maneuver the toys around obstacle courses of their own design. With several levels of learning and chal-lenges, the toy keeps kids occupied several hours a week for 4-6 months.
The company is also offering a free weekly webinar for parents and kids affected by COVID- 19 that includes getting started, tips and tricks, and weekly home assignments.
Girls playing with SmartGurlz products learn three key concepts:
Spatial Reasoning. Girls learn how to direct/orient their robots in new environments and in-terpret maps.
Computer Programming. Girls learn to program their robots using our kid-friendly coding App called SugarCodedTM.
Storytelling & Problem Solving. Girls learn to tell stories and solve missions via coding.
The SmartGurlz product line also includes an e-book series available through the App that focuses on the everyday adventures of four talented young women studying at the fictional New York Institute of Technology — N.I.T.
We’re all adjusting to a new normal. You can use this extra time at home to inspire the female tech leaders of tomorrow with toys that integrate the power of play with the power of technology.
SmartGurlz CEO Sharmi Albrechtsen is a robotics aficionado, educator, author and mom with a passion for closing the diversity gap in technology.
In 2015, Sharmi started SmartGurlz after becoming frustrated with the lack of STEM toys available for her daughter. The SmartGurlz flagship product, Siggy, was the first robotics product designed specifically for girls. More than 30,000 girls have been educated with SmartGurlz. SmartGurlz partners include BlackGirlsCode, Girl Scouts of America and Morrison Mentors.
SmartGurlz recently expanded its product line to include Smart Buddies (a joint-venture with Pitsco Education), which features a diverse set of characters suitable for both girls and boys, targeted towards schools.
Sharmi was recently given AdWeek’s Disruptor Award in Championing Gender Diversity in Advertising and Tech. She has also been named Women Entrepreneur of the Year 2018 by the Asian Chamber of Commerce as well as named a Morgan Stanley Multi-Cultural Innovation Lab fellow. Sharmi has been featured in Forbes, Huffington Post, Financial Times, Fox Business News, Fox and Friends and CNN. She is also a featured TEDx speaker.
Elizabeth Malone Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 133032 The Woodlands, TX 77393 Office: (281) 333-3507 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Angel Faces Retreat – Truly A Soft Place To Fall, A Solid Foundation For Growth
Encinitas, CA – For young girls with severe and permanent disfigurement from burns or other traumatic injuries, the cruelty of the world can be almost unbearable. The stares, name-calling, teasing and cruelty of others create a sort of living hell for this special group of survivors. Lesia Cartelli knows this is true, because she lived through it herself. Her desire to heal from a serious burn injury over 50% of her face and body at the age of nine in a natural gas explosion encouraged her to create Angel Faces® for girls who suffer similar disfiguring burns and other traumatic injuries.
Angel Faces® is a national, not-for-profit organization, headquartered in Encinitas, California, whose mission is to provide healing retreats and ongoing support for adolescent girls and young women with severe and permanent disfigurement from burn/trauma injuries to achieve their optimum potential and develop meaningful relationships for themselves, their families, and their communities.
This year, the retreat for adolescent girls with severe disfigurements will be held in Wolfeboro, NH from June 21-28, with a Level 2 Retreat being added for Leadership and Mentorship training, to include Emotional Intelligence, at Brewster Academy for women ages 19-29. The girls attending this retreat are flown in from cities all around the nation.
During the multi-day intensive retreat, survivors hear first-hand from Cartelli and others who have endured serious traumatic injuries and the long road to recovery. The young girls work closely with licensed therapists to share and explore ways to facilitate emotional healing and meet others with similar struggles. They learn new tools that will help them increase their self-esteem, decrease their depressive symptoms, and have a better quality of life. Most important of all, they are given hope that they can create the life they desire through empowerment.
“The retreat is only one small component,” Cartelli explains. “We see the power in the program when the girls go back home. We receive calls, cards and emails from the parents and medical centers about how confident and content their daughter or patient is since she has returned — she joined a sports or academic team at school or now is going to prom, or interviewing for a first job, ending their social death.”
The unique retreats and aftercare programs focus on the healing process within a holistic framework of mind, heart, and spirit. In addition to art therapy and private, corrective-cosmetic sessions, the program provides licensed therapists to help the girls through their loss and trauma issues, and provides the girls with strategies to handle staring and teasing. The goal of Angel Faces® is to offer a physical, spiritual, and emotional transformation so each girl walks away with a new confidence and a hopeful outlook toward the future with the skills to be excited about their life.
In addition to being a renowned, in-demand speaker and the founder/CEO of Angel Faces®, Lesia Cartelli now adds author to her vast range of talents, having just released her new book, Heart of Fire (Carlyle Publishing). In her authentic open voice, Lesia delivers hope and inspiration to those who are struggling with pain, emotional or physical, and demonstrates how to discover blessings and gifts within any type of challenge. For anyone who has been through hard times and seeks inspiration and hope, this heart-warming, often humorous, book is a must read.
For more information on the retreat or to donate to this worthy cause, please visit the Angel Faces® website at www.angelfaces.com, or purchase Lesia’s book at www.lesiacartelli.com.
