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Mastercard Connects Sports and STEM with The Red Sox Foundation

For the first time, Girls4Tech™ comes to Boston with curriculum that has reached 70,000+ girls

There’s a whole lot of STEM in baseball, and Mastercard proved it by bringing for the first time its signature education curriculum, Girls4Tech, to Boston through The Red Sox Foundation. As part of Mastercard’s larger MLB partnership and its work with MLB supported youth organizations, 19 Mastercard employees taught 29 girls from the Boys and Girls Club in Roxbury, MA the foundations of payment technology with fun, hands-on STEM activities.

“Our goal is to inspire young girls to build STEM skills that will help them become leaders of tomorrow,” said Susan Warner, senior vice president of global volunteerism. “With women making up nearly 50 percent of the workforce today, all technology companies, including ours, will be better and stronger. And to us, that’s priceless.”

Following the STEM learning session, the 29 participants from the Roxbury Boys and Girls Club were surprised with tickets to the American League Division Series game hosted by the Boston Red Sox. Mastercard previously taught the Girls4Tech curriculum to students in Washington, D.C. through the Nationals Youth Baseball Academy as well as in New York City through DREAM Charter School.

Girls4Tech was created to inspire girls to pursue STEM careers through a curriculum that’s based on global science and math standards and showcases Mastercard payment technology — encryption, fraud detection, data analysis, digital convergence and more. For the MLB partnership, the company added a few sports & STEM components to its signature program.  Now entering its fourth year, Girls4Tech just celebrated a significant milestone of reaching 70,000 girls by:

• Hosting events in 21 countries—Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Colombia, China, Germany, India, Italy, Ireland, Kenya, New Zealand, Nigeria, Poland, Singapore, Spain, South Africa, UAE, US and the UK
• Translating the program into nine languages: Italian, German, French, Portuguese, Bulgarian, Spanish, Chinese, Polish and sign language
• Partnering with UN Women in Singapore, Be Better China and NFTE
• Expanding the curriculum to include two new programs: Girls4Tech in a Day and Girls4Tech & Code, a 20-week mentoring program in the U.S.

About Mastercard

Mastercard (NYSE: MA), www.mastercard.com, is a technology company in the global payments industry. Our global payments processing network connects consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. Mastercard products and solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow us on Twitter @MastercardNews, join the discussion on the Beyond the Transaction Blog and subscribe for the latest news on the Engagement Bureau.

About the Red Sox Foundation

The official team charity of the Boston Red Sox, the Red Sox Foundation has donated to over 1,680 organizations since its creation in 2002, and focused on making a difference in the lives of children, families, Veterans, and communities in need by improving their  health, education, and recreational opportunities. Through partnerships with best-in-class organizations in healthcare, the Red Sox have helped raised over $135 million for cancer treatment and research for The Jimmy Fund, supported more than 15,000 Veterans and their families suffering from the “invisible wounds of war” with the Home Base Program, and helped the Dimock Center serve over 17,000 patients annually with health and human services. The Foundation’s self-run education and youth baseball programs have helped 274 Boston Public Schools students with college scholarships, and promotes healthy choices and valuable life skills to more than 700 urban youth annually through its RBI baseball and softball program.

A 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the Red Sox Foundation raises funds through special events, corporate sponsorships, and grants. Founded and initially funded by Red Sox Principal Owner John Henry, Chairman Tom Werner, President/CEO Emeritus Larry Lucchino and their partners, the Red Sox Foundation has won numerous awards for the impact of its innovative programs. In 2010, the Foundation’s Red Sox Scholars program was recognized by Major League Baseball with the first-ever “MLB Commissioner’s Award for Philanthropic Excellence.” In 2009, the Red Sox Foundation was honored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Sports Philanthropy Project with the Patterson Award as the nation’s “Best Team Charity in Sports.”  For more information about the foundation, visit redsoxfoundation.org.