Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Blacks In Technology Podcast #2: Kai Dupe' (Where Are The Blacks in Technology?)


This blog seeks to support the efforts of the Blacks In Technology folks as they interview remarkable IT professionals of color.

In this podcast Greg Greenlee spoke with Kai Dupe' back in November 2010.  Kai is a technical trainer and software development consultant with over 25 years of experience. He is also a educational technology doctoral student at Pepperdine University researching the lack of African American males in the information technology field. Kai is focused on technology integration in urban schools as well as societal digital equity issues and the educational failures of African American males. He utilizes his life lessons as well as his educational experiences expertise and skills to develop software for businesses large and small as well as promote technology integration in American schools, and encourage African Americans to participate in the digital society via workshops, seminars and speaking engagements.

Click the green arrow below to listen to the podcast interview.




Kai is frequently featured on this blog and he has his own blog under the title, “Where Are the Blacks in Technology?” You can follow Kai on Twitter - @KaiDupe

Monday, November 29, 2010

Three BDPA Students Showcase Entrepreneurial Talents with 3D Virtual Integration of Facebook Called StartLounge

We often talk about BDPA being an organization that provides programs and services that advance the careers of our members from the 'classroom to the boardroom'. I think that we will find the reality behind those words in Rochester, MN. That is where three past national BDPA High School Computer Competition (HSCC) champions have joined together to create the StartLounge.

StartLounge is a visual, social interface that engages users with 3D-Facebook integration. StartLounge also gives you the power to preview your Facebook news feeds and pictures that you are tagged in. The co-founders indicate that the product is still in the development stages and will be continually updated with cool new features.

The co-founders are student members of our BDPA Southern Minnesota chapter: James Arama, Ahmed Mahamad and Adwait Walimbe.


James Arama, Ahmed Mahamad and Adwait Walimbe
Arama is a freshman majoring in Computer Science at Marist College. He specializes in information processing with emphasis on business based applications utilizing Open-Source Interfaces.

Mahamad is a sophomore majoring in Health Sciences at the University of Minnesota. He plans to continue his studies at Medical School while researching in the area of Bio-informatics. This is a topic that he researched for the 2010 BDPA IT Showcase held earlier this year in Philadelphia.


Walimbe is a senior at John Marshall High School. He is a developing programmer, aspiring entrepreneur, and business consultant with plans to major in Computer Science when he enters college next year. This isn't his first start-up business. In 2008, he created Socialdecks, a company geared towards online learning while focusing on the social aspect of education.

These three young men embody the spirit of  'classroom to the boardroom' more than most. I look forward to seeing where their current venture -- StartLounge -- takes them over the coming months and years. In the meantime, I hope that all of BDPA-Nation will share some love with these three young men.

Sometimes we wonder why we put in the hours that we do for BDPA. I suggest that it is young 'uns like James, Ahmed and Adwait that make it all worthwhile.  

You can help us create scholarship opportunities for other young men and women by making a donation to the Jesse Bemley Scholarship Fund. Every dollar makes a difference. Won't you share your blessings with these young people?

Sunday, November 28, 2010

The BDPA Insider - November 28, 2010

 
The BDPA Insider – November 28, 2010

What better way to start the day than with your weekly message from BDPA!

In this issue:
  1. Bemley Scholar Caroline Tremain Heads to University of Minnesota 
  2. BETF Executive Director Wayne Hicks Voted One of the Top 50 Amazing Tech Tastemaker
  3. Happy Birthday: George Williams, Past National BDPA President
  4. HSCC Testimonial: Matthew Clark (Detroit, 2008-2010) 
  5. The Power of 'Thank You' 
  6. Winter 2011 enrollment period is open for the BDPA IT Institute
  7. Zymic Webmaster Resources, 11/11/2010 (Nicholas Reid) 
Much love to National BDPA past president Milt Haynes for pulling this information together every week.  

Kudos to the following websites for providing the articles used in this week's BDPA Insider: BDPA Detroit Technology Automation Committee blog, BDPA Foundation blog, BDPA-In-The-News blog, BDPA Your Membership and Blacks Gone Geek.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

HSCC Testimonial: Matthew Clark (Detroit, 2008-2010)

BDPA Detroit is a historically strong chapter when it comes to the national high school computer competition (HSCC) championships. In fact, there is only one chapter (Southern Minnesota) with more championships than Detroit. One reason for the success in Motor City is the strong coaches and students in the program. One of the strong students over the past three years (2008-2010) has been Matthew Clark.

Matthew shared his thoughts on his HSCC career with us:

My name is Matthew Clark. I was born in December 1991. I have been participating in BDPA for three years. Before my dad introduced me to this program I had no idea about how web sites worked, let alone how to build them myself. When I first came to the program I was kind of shy and did not talk much. After a couple of weeks and the teaching of my instructors (Tonji, “Coach G” and Ms. Glynis) I began to open up and become more confident in myself.

As I began to get better and better it made me feel great about myself, and influenced me to do other things. One of my most memorable moments was in my first year when we traveled to the national BDPA HSCC championships in Atlanta. I wasn’t feeling really well, but my teammates cheered me up by dancing around to music. I really enjoyed myself and couldn’t wait to come back.

After three years, we experienced the ‘highs’ (2nd place in 2009), the ‘lows’ (10th place in 2008) and the ‘mediums’ (4th place in 2010). Throughout it all I had fun and learned things I could take with me for the rest of my life. I won $3,000 in Jesse Bemley Scholarships, plus other gifts our instructors gave us (iPods, gift cards, etc.). I hope that people will read this and be inspired to join the BDPA program, because it is truly a great experience.

My career goal is to be the world’s greatest architect. I am currently enrolled in Lawrence Technological University, and will be studying Architecture as my major.

For the last couple of years I have been working with my church. Our duties were to clean and maintain the building and its surroundings. Whenever I was not working with my church I would go to work with my dad. He owns his own construction/remodeling business. These jobs and BDPA have taught me responsibility and perseverance, things I will be able to use for the rest of my life.

My first exposure to BDPA came when I lived in Detroit. As such, I am very proud of Matthew Clark. Often Detroit is only shown in a negative light by the national media. It is a pleasure to share this 'good news' story about a young African American man in Detroit. We wish Matthew nothing but success at Lawrence Tech University!

Friday, November 26, 2010

Matching Gift Statistics

Soulclap to the folks over at FirstGiving for sharing the following statistics on Matching Gift programs around the nation.
  • On average one in ten donors is matching gift eligible. 
  • Approximately 50% of the Fortune 500 companies have matching gift programs.
  • In the 2007 Council for Aid to Education (CAE) survey, 749 institutions reported over $169 million in matching gift dollars.
  • LSU received one matching gift check last year for over a million dollars from Exxon-Mobil.
  • The American Cancer Society has quadrupled matching gifts in the last three years to over $10 million dollars.
  • On average, 4-12% of donors are matching gift eligible and are not identified as such. 
  • 13% of companies match at 2 to 1.
  • 4,009 companies and subsidiaries match volunteer time.
BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) has not aggressively pursued matching gifts in the past.   We will be looking at it much more closely in the weeks to come.

Does your employer have a Matching Gift program?

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Grant Declination: Wachovia Wells Fargo Foundation (BDPA Charlotte)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) and BDPA Charlotte were disappointed to learn that our online grant proposal seeking $5,000 in support for the Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program has been declined by the Wachovia Wells Fargo Foundation.

The declination email read as follows:


Mr. Wayne Hicks, Executive Director
BDPA Education and Technology Foundation
4423 Lehigh Road, #277
College Park, MD 20740-3127

Dear Mr. Hicks:

Thank you for your request seeking support from Wells Fargo for BDPA Education and Technology Foundation in support of Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES).

As you can imagine, we receive many requests for financial support - far more than we can grant. Although we recognize the importance of your efforts, we are not able to make a contribution at this time.

Our mission at Wells Fargo is to build strong and vibrant communities, improve the quality of life, and make a positive difference. Your organization is vital in accomplishing these goals and many others.

We appreciate your giving us the opportunity to consider your request and wish you great success with your community efforts.

Jay Everette
Community Affairs Manager (Greater Charlotte)
301 South College Street
Charlotte, NC 28288
(704) 383-8287

We have a strong base of BDPA members employed at Wells Fargo. It is likely that we will seek out funding from them again in the future.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Grant Proposal: John W. Carson Foundation (BDPA Los Angeles)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) and BDPA Los Angeles chapter submitted a joint grant proposal to the John W. Carson Foundation. We asked for $5,000 to partially fund the 2011 Student IT Education & Scholarship (SITES) program conducted in southern California.

Our hope is that the folks running Johnny Carson's foundation will smile favorably on our youth technology training program. We feel that our SITES program is making a positive difference in the lives of K-12 students such as Krystal Cooper (1991-1992) and Evan Angcos (2009).

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

BETF Executive Director Wayne Hicks Voted One of the Top 50 Amazing Tech Tastemakers

I just learned from the folks over at Black Web 2.0 that I'm one of the Top 50 Amazing Tech Tastemakers.

You may recall that we told you about the Top 50 Amazing Tech Tastemakers campaign a few weeks ago. Since then a number of you took the time to cast your vote on who you think should be a Top 50 Tech Tastemaker and the results and activity have been both interesting and exciting to watch.   The voting ended yesterday and we ended up as #25 on the list!

I think it is wonderful that the @BDPA name is forever immortalized as a 'tastemaker'.
Tastemakers are the developers, the thinkers, and the risk takers. They're the entrepreneurs that sink their last dollar into their dream, the writers who report on it, and the evangelists that spread the word. Tastemakers are not influenced, they create influence and they do it through amazingly bold and innovative action. They are redefining the world of tech and ensuring the digital revolution will be televised, tweeted, blogged, and crowd-sourced.
Thank you to everyone who helped get us listed smack dab in the middle of this list! Check out who made the final Top 50 Amazing Tech Tastemakers list!

Blacks In Technology Podcas #1: Anthony Hall (Rose of Education)


BDPA seeks to 'win the future' by advancing the careers of African Americans in the information technology (IT) industry from the classroom to the boardroom. Another organization that has a similiar mission is Blacks In Technology (BIT) co-founded by BDPA Cincinnati chapter member Greg Greenlee and Ron Hash. It is a growing community of nubians from all over the nation who have agreed to network and support each other.

BIT provides a regular podcast featuring a prominent person of African descent in the IT industry. In this episode of the Blacks In Technology podcast Greg and Ronnie chat with Anthony Hall - founder of The Rose of Education. The Rose of Education is investigating the use of language to develop new technologies for communications, education, energy, security, defense, propulsion, automotive and robotics.

Listen now to an interview originally posted on November 23, 2010:



Monday, November 22, 2010

Bemley Scholar Caroline Tremain Heads to University of Minnesota

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) has given out over $318,000 in scholarships to more than 150 students since 1999. One of those talented scholarship students is Caroline Tremain. She was a member of the 2006 high school computer competition (HSCC) team trained by BDPA Southern Minnesota chapter. Her team took home the silver medal in the 2006 national HSCC championships held in Los Angeles CA. As a result, Carly earned a Jesse Bemley Scholarship.

Carly decided to use her Bemley Scholarship to help defray the costs of attending the University of Minnesota (Twin Cities). She shares her thoughts on the decision with us:

My name is Caroline Tremain. I graduated Mayo High School in Rochester, MN and anxiously await the start of my college studies at the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities where I will pursue an area of business at the Carlson School of Management.

As I was going through high school I had different aspirations for my future. I first thought I wanted to become a lawyer. I was an active member on the debate team and believed that it would be an interesting career that I would be good at. In my senior year I did a mentorship with a local judge. I sat in his courtroom every Tuesday morning for three hours. After listening to many cases and watching the same people appear again and again for committing the same crime, I decided I did not want to be a lawyer, at least not a public defender. I like a sense of completion with my work and to me it seemed like lawyers never really complete their jobs, unless the case ends. They only chip away at parts of a case for months or even years. That would drive me crazy.

I once thought that I wanted to be an obstetrician. A close family friend of mine is an obstetrician and always talks about the beautiful baby girls and boys that she helps bring into the world everyday. However after I saw the birthing video in my sophomore year health class I quickly decided that I needed to find another profession. The health industry as a doctor or nurse was not for me. Blood and fluids need to remain inside the body for my job.

In addition to my mentorship senior year I was also the student director for the school musical. That fall we put on the show Annie. I realized that I have natural leadership skills and I can work proficiently at getting major tasks done with a group of people. I really enjoyed this because it kept me involved and in control of most of the aspects of the play. I am not sure what job I will end up doing but I concluded that a business degree could get me a job that I would enjoy and thrive at.

I started looking at schools that had good business programs that were close to home. I wanted to get out of Rochester but I didn’t want to go to far away. I found the University of Minnesota and St. Thomas University. After being accepted into both schools I had to make the decision between a small or a large school. I visited both and felt more comfortable at the University of Minnesota.

I am currently undecided on my major but I think it might lean towards marketing. My dad was a marketing manager for twenty-seven years and I think some of his job skills rubbed off on me a little. I understand it pretty well, but I know that there is still so much more to learn. I am very excited to start this fall and begin my future.


I hope that you will take a moment to use the POST A COMMENT option to share some BDPA-Love with Caroline! It is important that BDPA continue to support our HSCC alumni in the years after they participate in the national HSCC championships.

Good luck in your future Carly!

Sunday, November 21, 2010

The BDPA Insider - November 21, 2010


 
The BDPA Insider – November 21, 2010

What better way to start the day than with your weekly message from BDPA!

In this issue:

  1. 2011 BDPA Chicago Awards Banquet Video
  2. BDPA Chapters on Twitter 
  3. BDPA Charlotte Chapter Supports eMentor Program at Garinger New Technology High School
  4. BETF Scholarship Winners (2009-2010) 
  5. Buy a Book Once. Read It Everywhere 
  6. Can BDPA Expand SITES Program to Elementary School Students With Tech Corps?
  7. Computer Science Education Week
  8. eWeek.com: IT Management: Non-Certified Technology Skills: the Top 25 Right Now 
  9. ITSMF: Executive Protege Program
  10. Mastering the technology of the Mind
  11. Not Just For Kids: Facebook For Grown Folks
  12. Summer Program for High School Students: Science and Engineering Apprenticeship with US Navy 
  13. Why Have You Been Out of Work So Long?
Much love to National BDPA past president Milt Haynes for pulling this information together every week.  

Kudos to the following websites for providing the articles used in this week's BDPA Insider: BDPA Foundation, Blacks Gone Geek, CSEdWeek, eWeek, SlideShare.net, The Ladders, Where Are The Blacks in Technology and YouTube.

Letter of Inquiry * Beaumont Foundation of America (BDPA Chicago)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) partnered with BDPA Chicago chapter to submit a letter of inquiry to the Beaumont Foundation of America. In our letter we asked for permission to submit a full grant proposal seeking $10,000 funding to support the Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program in Chicago.

The Beaumont Foundation provides grants and scholarships to a broad range of charitable, religious and educational organizations across the United States. We are hopeful that they will smile favorably on our funding request.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Congratulations to BETF College Scholarship Winners (2009-2010)


BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) has given out almost $400,000 in college scholarships over the years.  Chris Johnson is chair of the BDPA Foundation Scholarship Committee. He shared an update with the Foundation's board of directors on recent scholarship funds sent to post-secondary educational institutions around the country on the behalf of deserving BDPA student members:
  • $4,000 to Lauren Pemberton, Southern Minnesota chapter (Rice University)
  • $2,000 to Hassan Moustafa, Washington DC chapter (University of Maryland)
  • $4,000 to Andreaus Robinson, Chicago chapter (University of Illinois)
  • $1,000 to Logan LeCompte, Twin Cities chapter (Dakota State University)
  • $7,500 to Lee Reed III, Chicago chapter (University of Michigan)
  • $5,500 to Francisco Nunez, Washington DC and Northern Virginia chapters (Morehouse College)
  • $1,500 to Turkenya Herring, Washington DC chapter (Bowie State University)
  • $2,000 to Jourdan West, Detroit chapter (Michigan State University)
  • $1,500 to Alexis Howell, Washington DC chapter (Morgan State University)
  • $500 to Alan Rosales, New York chapter (University of Rochester)
  • $5,000 to James Arama, Southern Minnesota chapter (Marist College)
  • $1,000 to D Ephraim, Twin Cities chapter (Normandale Community College)
  • $500 to Cazemba Richards, New York chapter (Clarkson University)
  • $1,500 to Khadijah Lovejoy, Hartford chapter (West Virginia State University)
  • $1,500 to Caroline Tremaine, Southern Minnesota (University of Minnesota)
  • $2,500 to Hung Vo, Atlanta chapter (Georgia Institute of Technology)
  • $2,500 to Gerardo Dominguez, Chicago chapter (Chicago University)
  • $2,500 to Leslie Fuqua, Indianapolis chapter (DePauw University)
Brothers and sisters ... we need your help! Please consider making a tax-deductible pledge to the Bemley Scholarship Fund. Just COMMENT on this post with the amount of your pledge. We'll take it from there.

Or ... you can make an online donation!

Friday, November 19, 2010

Can BDPA Expand SITES Program to Elementary School Students With Tech Corps?

I drove out to Columbus Ohio in order to meet with Lisa Chambers, Tech Corps Ohio state director. BDPA Columbus chapter member Andre Young joined us in a discussion about possible strategic alliance with Tech Corps on local and national level.

Lisa shared with me the 15+ years of history for Tech Corps. The group was founded in 1995 by Gary Beach, Publisher Emeritus of CIO Magazine. Tech Corps is committed to enhancing K-12 education through the effective use of technology by recruiting, placing and supporting volunteers and by developing partnerships between schools and the community.

Tech Corps programs have evolved over time. Lisa shared with me insights on the Student Tech Corps and Girl Tech Corps programs. However, we spent most of our discussion talking about the TECHie Club and Summer Camp (Elementary School or Middle School)

The TECHie Club is an after-school program for 3-5 grade students. It is a very intense program that puts a greater emphasis on computer science than some other programs. There are modules focused on programming, robotics, digital media and web development. The young 'uns are able to communicate amongst themselves and with other TECHie Clubs around the nation on a blogging platform provided by Tech Corps.


TECHie Club is a program with a proven curriculum. The students, schools and parents are very excited about the program. Volunteers are needed to facilitate the TECHie Club experience. Each TECHie Club (maximum of 20 students) typically meet weekly for 90-120 minutes throughout the school year. Schools designate a Site Coordinator to manage students and assist volunteers. TECH CORPS staff trains teams of tech-savvy volunteers to use the TECHie Club Implementation Guide and Lessons to introduce students to computing topics.

In my opinion, this is a remarkable opportunity for BDPA members and leaders. We have a remarkable K-12 youth education program, Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) -- however, our program is heavily focused on high school programs. Only one chapter (Richmond) works consistently with elementary students. It seems like great synergy for BDPA members to volunteer to work with TECHie Club. Don't you agree?

Here are current TECHie Club volunteer opportunities in Ohio. Of course, you can get more details from Lisa Chambers by email or phone (614.583-9211).

There is also a strong Tech Corps Texas organization that seeks volunteers from BDPA members and other BETF-Blog readers.

I am making a personal commitment to identify volunteers for the TECHie Club start-ups in three Cincinnati elementary schools -- Hartwell, Kilgour and Mount Washington.

Do you think BDPA is ready to expand its SITES program to help 3rd, 4th and 5th graders in elementary school?

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Summer Program for High School Students: Science and Engineering Apprenticeship with US Navy

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is working with others to create a powerful strategic alliance in 2011 with the Department of Navy. One way that we can help is to raise awareness of Navy programs that would be of interest to BDPA student members.

For example, do you know a high school student who is interested in science and engineering and is looking for an apprenticeship next summer? If so, please let him or her know about the 2011 Science and Engineering Apprenticeship (SEAP) Program.

Applications for SEAP must be submitted between now and January 7, 2011. The eight week summer program begins June 20, 2011 and ends August 12, 2011.

The Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP) provides an opportunity for students to participate in research at a Department of Navy (DoN) laboratory during the summer.

The goals of SEAP are to encourage participating students to pursue science and engineering careers, to further their education via mentoring by laboratory personnel and their participation in research, and to make them aware of DoN research and technology efforts, which can lead to employment within the DoN.

SEAP provided competitive research internships to 247 high school students this year. Participating students spend eight weeks during the summer doing research at approximately 20 DoN laboratories.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Grant Declination: Office Depot Foundation (BDPA Columbus)

Office Depot Foundation informed us that our grant proposal on behalf of BDPA Columbus chapter has been declined. Sabina Conte (Office Depot community relations manager) wrote,
"Thank you very much for your recent online application to the Office Depot Foundation. Regrettably, we are not able to assist you with your special request at this time. Our contributions budget is fully committed."
Perhaps we will have better luck with Office Depot Foundation in the future!

BETF Given a New Combined Federal Campaign Code * 11174


African American give more of their income to charitable causes than any other racial group. In many cases it is done through workplace giving in programs run by the United Way.

Did you know that BETF is one of 28 non-profit organizations in the National Black United Federation of Charities. NBUFC generates resources and support to strengthen families and communities in the United States and Africa.

We encourage all federal employees that participate in the Combined Federal Campaign to make a payroll deduction on behalf of the BDPA Education & Technology Foundation.

Our new CFC code number is 11174.

BETF-Blog Readers, do you know any Federal employees such as your postal delivery person, employees at Social Security, IRS, Homeland Security and so forth? If so, please share our new CFC code (11174) with them so that they might support our efforts with education, children and empowerment.

You can see running list of our most recent donors in the navigation bar over on the right-hand side of our blog. I hope that you are making a personal donation to BETF during this Thanksgiving season!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

BDPA Charlotte Chapter Supports eMentor Program at Garinger New Technology High School

BDPA Charlotte seeks to provide male mentors for the eMentor program at Garinger New Technology High School. This program is designed to pair up students with professionals in careers related to Information Technology, Science, Math and Engineering.

The Mentees: High School students grade 10-12. Garinger New Technology HS student population is 66% African American, 19% Hispanic, 5% Asian and 8% White. Additionally 68% of the students use the free or reduced price lunch program.

The Mentors: The program requests that BDPA mentor a student through the academic year and communicate weekly through email. Additionally, each mentor must register as a volunteer with CMS online.

Outcome: To encourage students in their studies and build their interests in STEM careers, to be a sounding board for students about their interest and concerns about college, and to share your experiences that will prove helpful to the students lives.

Additional PERK: As the program typically matches the student with a mentor of the same gender, there is an exceptional need for more male volunteers. To note, 2/3 of the students participating in this program are male. How awesome is that! Our young males are interested in STEM careers, so to answer their call BDPA Charlotte are offering $25 off of BDPA membership for the first 10 new male members that also sign up to be an eMentor.

Questions? Contact Melandee Jones or Colette Nichols of the eMentoring program.

Monday, November 15, 2010

GenCorp Foundation

The GenCorp Foundation endorses the company's commitment to make our communities stronger. Through grant-making, workplace giving and employee volunteerism, the GenCorp Foundation is dedicated to supporting the communities where our employees live, work and volunteer.

The GenCorp Foundation was established in 2000 to meet the charitable needs of the communities where the company conducts business. Its primary giving focus is education, specifically science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). This giving focus targets students to better prepare them to be educated citizens and contributing members of our nation's future workforce.

Since 2000, the GenCorp Foundation has given more than $7 million to schools and nonprofit organizations through grants, scholarships and matching gifts. The foundation also supports employees' philanthropic efforts through workplace giving, volunteerism and matching gifts.

In 2008, the GenCorp Foundation contributed $542,088 in grants and scholarships. It also matched $194,756 in educational gifts, disaster relief and Dollars for Doers funding. Company employees pledged $229,000 through our annual workplace giving campaign.

The GenCorp Foundation limits contributions to 501[c][3] U.S.-based nonprofit organizations located in the communities where Aerojet and GenCorp have a business presence. It appears that we have co-located BDPA chapters in: Bay Area, No. Virginia, Seattle and Washington DC.

Please let us know if you / your chapter has interest in partnering with BETF on a grant proposal to this funding source.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

2011 Blogging While Brown Conference: Call For Ideas (Deadline: 12/3/2010)

2011 BWB Call for Ideas Now Open!

This blog wants you to know about the opening of the Call for Ideas for the 2011 Blogging While Brown conference. This will be a Black Social Media Weekend extravaganza and you can help build it the way you want it.

For the first time attendees will be able to vote on ideas submitted. Ideas are being accepted for the following program tracks:
  1. Online Activism
  2. The Business of Blogging/
  3. Niche and Lifestyle Blogging
  4. Hands-On Technical Workshops
The deadline for submissions is December 3, 2010. So don't hold back.   Submit your ideas and help Gina and her crew take the 4th annual Blogging While Brown Conference to the next level in 2011. Next year the conference will be held in Los Angeles, CA on July 8-9, 2011.

Questions?

Friday, November 12, 2010

Grant Declination: RGK Foundation (BDPA Chicago)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) and BDPA Chicago chapter learned today that our letter of inquiry to the RGK Foundation was reviewed. Unfortunately, our request for support has been turned down by the folks at RGK Foundation.

The declination note read as follows
:

Thank you for submitting an electronic Letter of Inquiry to RGK Foundation. As a result of the number of inquiries we receive, RGK Foundation is unable to respond affirmatively to all requests. Although the proposed program is worthy, we regret that we are unable to consider a formal proposal at this time.
We appreciate the time and effort put forth in submitting the Letter of Inquiry information, and we wish you success in reaching your funding goals.
Please do not reply to this email address as it is auto generated and does not receive replies.
Very truly yours,
Gregory A. Kozmetsky, President


BDPA Chicago is one of the most prolific chapters in the nation. BETF will continue to work with them to uncover funding from other nonprofit foundations. However, you can help ... let us know if you are aware of any nonprofit foundations or corporate foundations or folks with a high net worth who might be open to providing funding to support BDPA programs and services in Chicago or elsewhere. OK?

Thursday, November 11, 2010

High Praise for BDPA Richmond Support of Robotics Training for Elementary School Students

BDPA has a strong history of providing programs to engage high school students. Our national high school computer competition has been going on for over 25 years. We added the BDPA IT Showcase about eight years ago. My hope is that BDPA will participate at some level in the 2011 Imagine Cup.

I think that most BETF-Blog readers will agree that one area that we have not been as active or strong is in the technology-based support and education of elementary school students. However, that is beginning to change in Richmond, Virginia. BDPA Richmond chapter has been working for the last decade on teaching concepts of science, technology and robotics to elementary school students.

It appears to be paying off. Here is a testimonial that was recently posted on the BDPA Richmond chapter YahooGroup:


Good Evening Everyone,

My name is Carmen Caldwell and I am a graduate of Virginia State University (VSU). I was a member of BDPA-VSU and served on the executive board my junior and senior years. I wanted to commend the Fairfield Court Elementary 'Eaglebots' on a job well done at the FIRST Lego League Maggie L Walker Tournament. I have heard Ms. Jacki Davis rave about this robotics team on many occassions and really did not comprehend the excitement, learning (both adults and children), and FUN that could be had with just a little involvement.

I happened to attend the competition today as a volunteer for the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) and came across green t-shirts that had the guiding principle "Educate to Elevate". I knew that this was the doing of Ms. Jacki Davis. Whether in the judging rooms, in the pit (competition area), or leisure this team was
outstanding.

Little did this team know that I was one of the design judges and my team and I were absolutely blown away by the professionalism, knowledge, honesty, and most of all the manners of this team. Out of the teams we viewed today they definitely shined when it came to teamwork. Although there were a few mishaps they did an outstanding job! To top it off all but one of the Eaglebots were first year robotics members! Amazing!

I was not able to stay until the end of the tournament but I wanted to give praise where it is due! Good job team, coaches, sponsors, and everyone that assisted the Eaglebots!

Continue to "Educate to Elevate" BDPA-Richmond, job well done and it has shown!

Regards,
Ms. Carmen Caldwell
Henrico, Va 23228

Are there other BDPA chapters interested in providing elementary school programs? Are there other BDPA chapters interested in exploring FIRST Lego League in their geographic area?

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Letter of Inquiry * 3M Foundation (National BDPA)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) and National BDPA submitted a joint letter of inquiry to the Community Giving folks at the 3M Foundation. We are asking them to provide us with $3,000 to purchase 75 ASP handbooks for the 2011 Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program.

Hopefully, the folks at 3M will smile favorably on our request!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Dr. Melodie Mayberry-Stewart Will Keynote 2010 BDPA New York Scholarship Awards Dinner

Melodie Mayberry-Stewart is the chief information officer for the state of New York. She was recently named one of the Top 50 African Americans in Technology. I'm looking forward to meeting her on Wednesday, November 10, 2010 in Brooklyn NY. I will be the master of ceremonies at the BDPA New York Chapter Scholarship & Awards Dinner. Ms. Mayberry-Stewart will be the keynote speaker.

The purpose of the dinner is to recognize the outstanding contributions of BDPA New York chapter’s community supporters and corporate sponsors as well as award college scholarships to our students, who are members of the BDPA Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program. The SITES program affords students the opportunity to get hands-on computer and web development training, exposure to various careers in Information Technology and develop professional and interpersonal skills (i.e. business etiquette skills, resume writing and team building). This program is designed to develop the next generation of IT Professionals, and encourage African American youth to explore careers in such traditionally underrepresented fields as Computer Science and Information Technology.

Another highlight of the evening will be the announcement of the winners of the Roger Dunn Memorial Scholarship and the Renee McClure Scholarship Awards. These awards go to BDPA SITES students who have demonstrated strong excellent leaderships skills. BETF helped to fund both of these awards in the past.

I hope that you will consider supporting this annual event with your presence in person or via an advertisement in the program guide. Those of you that are unable to find a business-related reason to support the chapter can do so with a tax-deductible donation to the BDPA Education and Technology Foundation.

Grant Proposal: Capital One Foundation (Baton Rouge)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) and BDPA Baton Rouge chapter partnered on a $5,000 grant proposal to the Capital One Foundation. We are working our request through the community affairs officer located in Louisiana.

Capital One Bank is at the end of their 2010 granting year, however they invite organizations with programmatic requests that specifically reach a 51% or greater low-to-moderate income population and fit the bank's strategic philanthropic goals.


Our understanding is that they give priority to programs in the following areas:
  1. Supporting Community Development, focusing on career exploration and job training programs
  2. Increasing Financial Literacy, focusing on money management knowledge and product-centric education
  3. Improving Access to Quality Education, focusing on teacher effectiveness, parental engagement and student support services
Our hope is that Capital One Bank will find favor with the Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program powered by our volunteers in the BDPA Baton Rouge chapter. Wish us luck!

Monday, November 8, 2010

This Week in BDPA (Nov 7-13)

BDPA has 45 chapters around the nation. You can always find programs, services or networking activity here or here. BDPA supports your efforts for career advancement in the IT industry. Our hope is that you will continue to support Our Cause!

Are you taking advantage of these programs? Here is a weekly preview of upcoming events gathered from the centralized BDPA calendar :
We encourage all BDPA leaders to take advantage of the centralized BDPA Groupsite Calendar to post your upcoming events! Please let us know of other BDPA events that we may have missed. Most importantly, let us know if you plan to attend any BDPA events this week.