Girlstart Wins Inaugural Us F1® Allwyn Global Community Award
- wgclients01
- Oct 17
- 3 min read
Allwyn, the multi-national lottery-led entertainment company, and Formula 1 have announced Girlstart as the first US winner of the F1® Allwyn Global Community Award and recipient of a €100,000 donation (equivalent to over $117,000). The donation, courtesy of Allwyn, will be used to further Girlstart’s positive work in the local community by introducing STEM careers to girls who have been historically marginalised.
Headquartered in US tech hub Austin - home of the FORMULA 1® MSC CRUISES UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX 2025 - Girlstart is a national organisation empowering girls to explore STEM. It offers engaging out of school programmes, led by inspiring all-female staff and mentors, designed to help girls pursue their dreams regardless of ethnicity or background. Women remain under-represented in STEM careers, making up just 34% of college-educated STEM workers, with less than 10% of those positions held by women of colour.*
Girlstart reaches over 1,800 girls aged 9-14 in Texas alone every year, through hands-on STEM camps, conferences and activities. It has worked with F1 for a number of years to bring STEM to life for girls in Austin through exciting experiences - from robot coding sessions to behind-the-scenes access to race tech, engineers and drivers at the F1 Circuit of the Americas.
This race weekend, Girlstart will be at the circuit for a day of STEM-related activities and mentorship, including programmes such as trophy design - which will see them create custom F1 trophies to be judged and awarded by drivers - as well as an on-track relay race where girls can run alongside other athletes and engineers.
Over the next 12 months, the donation from Allwyn will enable Girlstart to support its ambitious activities including 33 weekly hands-on STEM after school programmes, 16 week-long summer camps and the Austin Girls in STEM conference, which will reach more than 1,250 girls in Central Texas.
The F1® Allwyn Global Community Award, launched this year as part of the multi-year partnership between F1 and Allwyn, reflects a shared commitment to driving positive change and giving back to the communities in which they operate. During the 2025 season, a total of four F1-linked local initiatives making a positive impact in their countries - which could include advancements in education, culture, wellbeing and sustainability - will be chosen by judges to each win a €100,000 donation from Allwyn.
Two further winners will be presented with the F1® Allwyn Global Community Award this season at the following races:
FORMULA 1® GRAND PREMIO DE LA CUIDAD DE MEXICO 2025 – 24 - 26 October 2025
FORMULA 1® HEINEKEN LAS VEGAS GRAND PRIX 2025 – 20 - 22 November 2025
Allwyn’s ambition is to extend the Award to cover more races in the 2026 season, and further celebrate projects which make a meaningful difference.
Katarína Kohlmayer, Member of the Board of Directors of Allwyn International AG and F1® Allwyn Global Community Award judge, said: “Girlstart’s work in Austin, and across the US, is both significant and important. At Allwyn, we champion those who take chances - but we understand it’s much easier to pursue your dreams if you have the skills and confidence to succeed, as well as opportunities and role models to inspire you. Girlstart does this brilliantly and I’m delighted to be helping them empower even more young girls within the Austin community and beyond.”
Ellen Jones, Head of ESG at Formula 1, said: “At Formula 1, we are driven by a constant ambition to inspire the next generation and open access to our sport. Girlstart is a great initiative that both inspires young women interested in STEM subjects, and gives them access to pursue their dreams, so we’re delighted they have won the F1 Allwyn Global Community Award. Their commitment will have a profound effect on many of the young girls they support by helping them towards a career in STEM and motorsport.”
F1® Allwyn Global Community Award winner, Shane Woods, Girlstart, said: “We envision a future where any girl believes they have the potential to change the world through STEM and F1 has been a huge support for our work here in Austin. Allwyn’s donation will make such a difference, ensuring we have the necessary supplies, staff and training to expand our programme over the next year and increase the number of girls we can inspire for the future.”