Volunteer Grant * McKesson Foundation (BDPA Richmond)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation received a volunteer grant award of $500 from the McKesson Foundation. The donation was the direct result of the service that Christopher Parker provided as a member of the BDPA Richmond board of directors.

Many employers offer volunteer grants. We encourage all BDPA members and supporters to see if they are eligible for similar volunteer grants to support the programs, scholarships and services of their local chapter!

Grant Disbursement: BDPA Richmond ($3,000)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) approved a $3,000 grant disbursement to BDPA Richmond chapter. The request for funding was submitted by chapter president Christopher Parker.

Christopher wrote,

"We are requesting our restricted funds ($2,500 from McKesson matching gifts and $500 from McKesson board grant. We will use the funding to support $2,000 in college scholarships in Fall 2013 and Spring 2014; $300 for elementary LEGO and other chapter operations such as program meetings."

This grant disbursement flows smoothly with the BETF vision to achieve, through investment in education and technology, an informed minority community prepared to lead and leverage the knowledge revolution for the benefit of the community-at-large. BETF hopes to work with BDPA Richmond chapter on funding for its 2014 SITES program.

Quite frankly, BETF wants to work with all 46 local BDPA chapters and any interested BDPA member or supporter to explore increased funding opportunities through payroll deductions or joint grant proposals.

Message from BDPA Richmond Chapter President

Members and Friends,

Christopher Parker

Last week we had the awesome opportunity to host 'BDPA Day' on the Virginia State University (VSU) campus. We had the honor and pleasure of talking to management information systems majors and others about the benefits of being a part of a professional organization. Also, we shared how BDPA Richmond plans to work with VSU and the students to have a strong chapter presence in the fall semester. Finally, we talked about the ways that our BDPA programs can help prepare them to succeed in their future careers.

BDPA handed out organizational information before hosting a discussion with a panel of Richmond-area Information Technology professionals, including past National BDPA vice president Allison Aheart. Eleven VSU students were able to ask questions about the industry and learn from our experiences. BDPA Richmond chapter used 'BDPA Day' to strengthen our bonds with the VSU faculty ... including a new relationship with the VSU director of corporate relations. It helps that the VSU chief information officer, Hubert Harris, is a past BDPA Richmond chapter president!

BDPA will continue to help the VSU students travel from 'the classroom to the boardroom'. It is part of our ongoing mission to deliver programs for adults, high school students, middle school students and elementary schools students in a variety of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) areas. VSU 'BDPA Day' was a reminder of how each of us has the wonderful privilege to impact someone else in a positive manner solely through the gift of time.

Please contact me to learn more about our fundraiser to help support the purchase of college student memberships in BDPA. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Christopher Parker, president
BDPA Richmond Chapter

Message from BDPA Richmond Chapter President

GENERAL CHAPTER UPDATE AND NEWS

Christopher Parker

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! One huge thing that we are thankful for is the return home of James Byrd this Saturday, 11/24. While James was in the hospital, the National BDPA vice president Dr. Craig Brown, sent flowers on behalf of BDPA, and the Richmond Chapter delivered a card and reading materials. James was visited by current and prior members, and we are all happy that he is doing much better!

The joint BDPA and NSBE LEGO robotics team competed at the Virginia FIRST LEGO League Qualifier at L.C. Bird High School on 11/3. The kids and trainers did a great job, and we look forward to the bright future that lies ahead for our youth due to programs like LEGO robotics that prepare our youth to be competitive in technology at an early age.

EVENTS

It's that time of year again! Richmond Leadership Network (RLN) Annual Holiday Party 2012 on Thursday, December 13, 2012 at the Omni Richmond (Downtown) Cary Street, Richmond, VA 23219 7PM - 11PM. Business Professional/Coctail Attire. Come join the RLN and BDPA for the traditional RLN Holiday Party. Advance ticket price $20, At the door $25.

As a member of RLN, BDPA is providing 10 free tickets to current members and those who have volunteered this year. If you would like a ticket, please send an email to president@bdparichmond.org by December 7th.

To purchase other tickets, go to http://rln2012holidayparty.eventbrite.com

WHAT'S NEXT?

After filling two key executive board member positions (VP of Communications and VP of Strategy), we will be holding an Executive Board meeting in December to plan for a chapter strategy session at the beginning of the year that will be open to all current members, past members, volunteers, and those interested in becoming a part of the chapter. We were not able to bring in the I.T. Risk Management and Security expert in Q3 to talk to the VSU college chapter and Richmond I.T. professionals. A key to allowing his company to fund the travel depended on our ability to coordinate with the students, and we could not complete the necessary logistics and align schedules. We hope to reserve this topic again for next year. The website project team is gathering content as we prepare to redesign our site for 2013.

Please listen to my BDPA iRadio Show interview that took place on November 27th.

Sincerely,
Christopher Parker, president
BDPA Richmond Chapter

BDPA iRadio Show: November 27, 2012

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is very proud to be the creator of the BDPA iRadio Show. The show on November 27th was our 39th episode of the our Internet Radio Show that began last summer. You can listen to the archive version of the show using the widget shown in the right-hand sidebar of this blog. FREE download from the iTunes Store is also available for our listeners!

Listen to internet radio with BDPA on Blog Talk Radio

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The guests on the November 27th show:

 Ruthe Farmer - Director of Strategic Initiatives, National Center for Women in IT - Ruthe is a nationally-known expert on the issues impacting women in the IT industry. She is NCWIT director of strategic initiatives … which is a major player in the annual Computer Science Education Week that takes place next month. Finally, Ruthe was instrumental in arranging for NCWIT to host a corporate reception at the 2013 BDPA Technology Conference in Washington DC. This reception will honor successful women in IT … particularly women of color. We look forward to hearing Ruthe's insights on the BDPA iRadio Show. Her twitter handle is @ruthef  

Chad White - Vice President of Membership Management, National BDPA - Chad serves as the national vice president of membership management. His business area is responsible for recruitment and retention of members into BDPA on a national level. He ensures that our suite of membership benefits is powerful enough to attract IT professionals from across the nation to support BDPA programs, scholarships and services. Chad works for Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC). HCSC has won many BDPA accolades for its extraordinary corporate sponsorship on a local and national level. He can share some of the reasons that HCSC is such a good corporate sponsor for BDPA. We look forward to hearing what he has to say on the BDPA iRadio Show. His twitter handle is @NationalBDPA

Christopher Parker - Chapter President, BDPA Richmond - Christopher Parker is president of one of the most active BDPA chapters in the nation. His chapter has a legacy for educational programs that impact on the lives of K-12 students including ambitious robotics programs for elementary and middle-school students. On an individual level Christopher is one of the most generous donors to the BDPA Education and Technology Foundation in 2012. We look forward to hearing his story on the BDPA iRadio Show. The BDPA twitter handle is @NationalBDPA

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We hope you enjoy the insights and commentary on the show from each of these guests. Please take a moment to post a comment to let us know that you care!

Matching Gift Award: McKesson Foundation ($2,500)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is proud to inform you that the McKesson Foundation awarded us a $2,500 matching gift on behalf of one of its employees. The check came with a letter that read as follows:

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Dear Mr. Hicks,

We are pleased to offer the attached donation to BDPA Education and Technology Foundation in the amount of $2,500.00, which was made possible by McKesson Foundation Matching Gift Program.

This offer will remain open for 180 days. To accept this offer, please cash the attached check within 180 days. Any donation not accepted by cashing the check will be revoked and the McKesson Foundation will send those funds to the American Cancer Society.

Part of the McKesson Foundation mission is to support our employees' community involvement efforts, and we are proud to be among your current supporters.

Sincerely,
The McKesson Foundation

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Suffice it to say that the check is being cashed right now! Christopher is the president of our BDPA Richmond chapter. He made a $2,500 donation to BETF earlier this year to support the efforts of the 2012 High School Computer Competition (HSCC) team trained by his chapter.  He worked with BETF and his company to get them to make a 100% match of his gift ... and the company cut this check in support of BDPA programs, scholarships and services.

Have you checked to see if your employer as a matching gifts program yet? If not, please do so right away!

Volunteer Grant Award: McKesson Foundation ($500)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is proud to inform you that the McKesson Foundation awarded us a $500 volunteer grant on behalf of one of its employees. The check came with a letter that read as follows:

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Dear Mr. Hicks,

We are pleased to offer the attached donation to BDPA Education and Technology Foundation in the amount of $500.00, which was made possible by McKesson employee Christopher Parker's involvement with your organization. Part of the McKesson Foundation mission is to support our employees' community involvement efforts, and we are proud to be among your current supporters.

This offer will remain open for 180 days. To accept this offer, please cash the attached check within 180 days. Any donation not accepted by cashing the check will be revoked and the McKesson Foundation will send those funds to the American Cancer Society.

Sincerely,
The McKesson Foundation

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Suffice it to say that the check is being cashed right now! Christopher is the president of our BDPA Richmond chapter. He let his company know about his volunteer efforts as a member of the chapter's board of directors ... and the company cut this check in support of BDPA programs, scholarships and services.

Have you checked to see if your employer as a volunteer grant program yet? If not, please do so right away!

Message From BDPA Richmond Chapter President

BDPA Richmond chapter president Christopher Parker and his leadership team shared the following update on chapter programs, scholarships and services:

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• Fundraising - Last October, BDPA Richmond celebrated its 20th Anniversary as a chapter. BDPA Richmond raised $826.70 for educational programs and scholarships after expenses. Thank you to all those who attended and participated! Your contributions will help send 5 students to this year’s National Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.
• National BDPA Conference - One of the ways in which BDPA “advances careers from the classroom to the boardroom” is through our National Conference. This year’s conference will take place at the Baltimore Hilton on August 1-4. Our keynote speaker will be cyber-security czar Dr. Ernest McDuffie. The conference is designed to inform, motivate and encourage networking for professionals in the IT industry. During the four‐day conference, participants can expect to share their experiences with peers, attend the career fair, explore the displays at the technology expo, and participate in a wide array of workshops and seminars reflecting leading‐edge technologies and strategies. Please log on to www.bdpa.org for more information, and I encourage you to attend.
• Adult Computer Literacy Program - Congratulations to our first graduating class of 2012 for our Adult Computer Literacy Program in collaboration with 5th Baptist Church on Cary Street. Students participated in a 12-week training program which is comprised of a beginning, intermediate and advanced computer concepts courses. In the beginner’s course, the students were taught about computer components and how they interact, computer terminology, numbering schemes, operating systems, and about Internet browsers including effective searches. The intermediate class was mostly centered on learning about the Windows operating system in more in-depth detail. Lastly, the advanced course taught computer networking concepts and how to build a home network. The students did an outstanding job and their computer knowledge was truly enhanced. Best of all, this course is free!
• Membership - Please welcome our new VP of Business Management -- Michael Tolliver (Bank of America). Michael is working with me to further strengthen and expand our programs, and to fill out our Executive Board.
• 3rd Quarter Preview - A planning meeting will be held for a Lego partnership with the Boys and Girls Club. A tentative speaker for a Q3 program meeting has been contacted to provide an overview, and to discuss opportunities in I.T. Risk Management and Security for I.T. professionals and college students.
  Executive Board Positions will be posted for leadership opportunities to build resume experience and career skills.

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BDPA Richmond chapter is scrambling right now to get all the funding it needs. Perhaps you can click here to help them?

Volunteer Grant Award: McKesson Foundation ($500)

Christopher Parker

McKesson Foundation sent a $500 check to the BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) to honor the volunteer hours donated to BDPA Richmond chapter by Christopher Parker. This volunteer grant is based on service and leadership provided by Christopher as the chapter president.

The funds will help to support the young people that are heading out next week to participate in the 2011 National BDPA High School Computer Competition Championship in Chicago. Good luck BDPA Richmond!

Many corporations have volunteer grant programs. We encourage all BDPA supporters to place a call to their human resources department to see what it takes to qualify for a volunteer grant.

BDPA Richmond Chapter Overview

This is the PowerPoint presentation shared by BDPA Richmond chapter president Christopher Parker at the chapter's recent program meeting.

BDPA Richmond Chapter Overview

View more presentations from BDPA Foundation

Anything that you would like to see added, deleted or revised in this presentation?

Message from Richmond Chapter President

Members and Friends,

Christopher Parker

I enjoyed sharing our progress so far with the Richmond chapter. We talked about the three main areas of member benefits (networking, education, and community). We talked about some of the ways National BDPA and local chapters such as Richmond produce rich programs to serve our stakeholders. We also shared exciting new changes to our on-line member presence spearheaded by National BDPA, and I expressed my commitment to make sure members are informed of all programs and services that will enrich and benefit them. Finally, we shared the status of our Q1 goal execution (making good progress!), volunteer needs, and upcoming events.

We have two fundraising initiatives in progress to help our students receive a college education. We've partnered with KLM Scholarship Foundation to help sponsor a book scholarship for a student of our choice. Last year, eleven students received $10,000!! Please join us on Saturday, April 2, 2011 at 7:00 PM in the Children's Museum of Richmond for awesome raffles, great food, chances to win big prizes, casino games, and cocktails!

PLEASE RSVP by March 19th to info@bdparichmond.org

If we get 20 people, we can give you a discount and guarantee our ability to select a student from BDPA. You have to purchase the tickets through BDPA Richmond for us to get credit, and you to get the discount!

Our second fundraiser is for the general scholarships that we give to college students who are selected to represent our chapter at the BDPA National Conference's HSCC computer programming competition. We now have a link specifically dedicated for this college scholarship goal. Please log onto http://www.crowdrise.com/BDPARichmond and help us give away $5,000 in scholarships!

Please take a moment to view the presentation deck from our last meeting, and we would love to see you there next time! Please be on the lookout for our next flier for a tech meeting and membership drive planned for March 29th.

Thank you,
Christopher Parker, President
BDPA Richmond Chapter

Grant Recipient: BDPA Richmond ($500)

2010 Richmond HSCC Team

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is proud to award $500 grant funding to BDPA Richmond chapter as part of the disbursement of our $25,000 American Honda Foundation grant. BDPA Richmond chapter earned this funding as a direct result of the college scholarships that they provided to Alex Elliott and Joshua Shelton.

Alex (2nd from left in photo) and Joshua (far right in photo) both competed at the 2010 National BDPA High School Computer Competition (HSCC) championships held in Philadelphia PA. Alex and Joshua are both using their scholarships to offset expenses at Virginia Commonwealth University.

BDPA Richmond chapter president Christopher Parker and chapter VP-Finance Julia Harris approached BETF for this $500 funding and it was approved within 24 hours. BETF looks forward to helping all 45 local BDPA chapters with fundraising for their STEM-based programs.