THIEF RIVER FALLS, Minn., June 2, 2017 -- Adafruit Industries, Girls Who Code, and Digi-Key Electronics are excited to announce a special program designed to further STEM education and reduce the gender gap in technology-based careers. The promotion is entitled "Buy a Playground, Give a Playground".

During the summer months, for every Adafruit Circuit Playground that is sold on www.digikey.com, Digi-Key and Adafruit will donate one Circuit Playground to Girls Who Code for use in their education-based programs.

Buy a Playground, Give a Playground

Buy a Playground, Give a Playground

"Digi-Key's and Adafruit's support will provide hundreds of Girls Who Code participants extended learning platforms and allow them to deepen their understanding of computational thinking and coding," said Reshma Saujani, Founder and CEO of Girls Who Code. "We're thrilled to be able to provide this technology to our participants and we're excited to see what they create using it."

With unsurpassed ease-of-use and incredible elements of flexibility and functionality, the Adafruit Circuit Playground is the ultimate tool to learn and perfect electronic system design creating future hardware and software experts. With almost every type of electronic sensor (temperature, sound, light, motion), buttons, switches and 10 multi-color bright LEDs, the Adafruit Circuit Playground truly a "playground" for creativity.

"Adafruit designed Circuit Playground to be the easiest way to get started on the life-long adventure of learning electronics, programming and more," added founder and engineer Limor "Ladyada" Fried.

"Engineering is fun but there is a stigma associated with it. People think it is beyond their capabilities, but the truth is that it isn't," explained Dave Doherty, President and COO at Digi-Key. "Platforms like the Circuit Playground and organizations like Girls Who Code are helping make it a reality for the next group of engineers. Digi-Key is committed to fueling the passion for STEM, and more specifically engineering. Our world is all about innovation and we want to make sure that we do everything we can to enable that innovative spirit moving forward."

The "Buy One Give One" promotion runs from June 1st - August 15th, 2017 and is open to residents of the US only. Limitations apply. For more information and to view the complete Terms and Conditions, please visit www.digikey.com/GirlsWhoCode.

About Adafruit Industries

Adafruit was founded in 2005 by MIT hacker & engineer, Limor "Ladyada" Fried. Her goal was to create the best place online for learning electronics and making the best designed products for makers of all ages and skill levels. Adafruit has grown to over 100+ employees in the heart of NYC with a 50,000+ sq. ft. factory.

About Girls Who Code

Girls Who Code was founded with a single mission: to close the gender gap in technology. What began as one program for twenty girls in New York City in 2012 has grown into a national movement, engaging tens of thousands of middle and high school girls across the country to pursue futures in computer science. With the launch of a 14-book publishing program with Penguin and Pets Who Code in 2017, Girls Who Code plans to make free computer science education accessible to every household across the US by 2020.

About Digi-Key Electronics

Digi-Key Electronics, headquartered in Thief River Falls, Minn., USA, is an authorized global, full-service distributor of electronic components, offering more than six million products, with over 1.3 million in stock and available for immediate shipment, from over 650 quality name-brand manufacturers. Digi-Key also offers a wide variety of online resources such as EDA and design tools, datasheets, reference designs, instructional articles and videos, multimedia libraries, and much more. Technical support is available 24/7 via email, phone and webchat. Additional information and access to Digi-Key's broad product offering can be found by visiting www.digikey.com.