Rest In Peace: Malcom Mathis (BDPA St. Louis Chapter President)

We are deeply saddened to inform our BDPA membership that BDPA St Louis Chapter President, Malcom Mathis II, and his 22 month old son, Malcom Mathis III, passed away in a tragic incident. He was a devoted husband to his wife, Susan and a devoted father to his children. Malcolm was a generous and caring friend and colleague and the personification of Servant Leadership. His absence will be felt greatly.

Malcom served as BDPA St Louis Chapter President from 2016 - 2018, where he embodied BDPA beliefs and purpose, “to serve and elevate others and prepare students and young professionals today for leadership tomorrow”. Malcom also served as a member of the BDPA St. Louis Corporate Advisory Council. He generously gave his time and talents in many capacities in his community, including on the School Board for the Jennings School District.

For those who were fortunate to know Malcom well, you couldn’t help but admire how deeply he cared for his community and the people he worked with. He spent more than 6 years at the Monsanto Corporation most recently as a business architect and an active leader in the African Americans in Monsanto Network (AAIM). He was always a strong advocate for diversity in Monsanto.

A benefit account has been established at Commercial Bank for The Mathis Family. Make checks payable to The Mathis Family Benefit. This account has been verified by the Maryland Heights Police Department. This account was established to help raise funds for funeral expenses.


Contributions can be mailed to:
      Commercial Bank
      Attn: The Mathis Family Benefit
      2330 West Port Plaza Drive
      Maryland Heights, MO 63146

Grant Proposal: HSBC (National BDPA)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) worked closely with the officers of the National BDPA to submit a grant proposal to the HSBC seeking $25,000 for the 2018 Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program.  We should get an answer within a couple of months.

BETF is willing to work with any of the 46 local BDPA chapters to obtain the funding that they need to successfully deliver their 2018 SITES program. Simply reach out to the BETF executive director if you have questions or wish to discuss further.

Message from BDPA Atlanta Chapter President (February 2018)

Victor Montgomery

Hello and Happy Black History Month.  I hope your year is off to a tremendous start.  I’m sure 2018 New Year Resolutions are being actively pursued and dreams are being realized.  I have been in the role of President for the BDPA Atlanta Chapter for over a year now.  I have seen a great deal of progression, however, there is still much more to do.  I am excited to work hand-and-hand with National BDPA leadership to continue to move the needle forward.

As members of BDPA Atlanta, I want to provide you an update on the State of the BDPA Atlanta Chapter.  This update will focus on professional membership, collegiate membership, Student Information Technology Education and Scholarship (SITES) & National High School Computer Competition (HSCC) Programs.

Professional Membership

Last year we had a number of sessions for professionals, however, we did not engage our professional members as much as we would have liked to.  This year we are seeking to ensure we host activities to reignite excitement around BDPA Atlanta.  We want to host activities that benefit our membership.  The first step to achieving success is by being transparent.  As a chapter, we have to bring focus to our professional members.  We are committed to this, however, we need your assistance.  We need your participation and volunteerism.  We want to ensure we are serving you in a way that contributes to your advancement.  You will see more communications from the Atlanta team, we simply ask that you respond by participating and volunteering.

If your membership has lapsed, I humbly ask that you give BDPA Atlanta Chapter another opportunity.  I believe if we work together we can reignite the success of the Atlanta Chapter.

If you are interested in speaking or have an idea for a session, please email president@atlantabdpa.org.

Collegiate Membership

In conjunction with National BDPA, BDPA Atlanta is excited to announce plans to start collegiate chapters.  The initial chapters will be at the following institutions:
 

• Atlanta University Consortium (Clark Atlanta, Morehouse, and Spelman)
• Georgia State University
• Kennesaw State University

We are in the beginning stages of establishing these chapters.  If you know of students at any of these institutions or surrounding institutions please share this great news.  We will notify members of information sessions for each collegiate chapter.

SITES & HSCC

Last year was an exciting year for our youth programs.  We had over 40 high school students participate in HSCC, as well as a college student participate in the Mobile App Competition.  Our HSCC team finished 2^nd place for the coding competition.  That makes two 1^st and one 2^nd place finish in the last three years.  In addition, we won the 2017 Mobile Application Competition for High School participants.  Overall, we have achieved a great deal.

This year, we have over 75 participants in HSCC.  We are looking to maintain that count until the August competition.  The students are very excited!  We are also anticipating a significant increase in Mobile Application Competition participants.

Closing

As you can see, we have been doing a great deal in Atlanta, however, we know we can do more.  From National competitions, our students have been awarded over $40K+ in the last three years because of the commitments we have made to them, “From the classroom to the boardroom”.  As a member of BDPA Atlanta, you have contributed to that success.

I am committed to our students and I am committed to you.  Please join me in making this a year that BDPA Atlanta will never forget.

Sincerely,
Victor Montgomery, president
BDPA Atlanta Chapter

Grant Proposal: Cincinnati Bell (BDPA Cincinnati)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) worked closely with the officers of the BDPA Cincinnati chapter to submit a grant proposal to the Cincinnati Bell seeking $5,000 for the 2018 Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program.  We should get an answer within a couple of months.

BETF is willing to work with any of the 46 local BDPA chapters to obtain the funding that they need to successfully deliver their 2018 SITES program. Simply reach out to the BETF executive director if you have questions or wish to discuss further.

Grant Declination: Cisco Foundation (BDPA Atlanta)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) worked with BDPA Atlanta chapter (president, Victor Montgomery) to submit a $15,000 grant proposal to the Cisco Foundation. If approved, the grant would provide partial funding for the Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program in Atlanta, GA.

Unfortunately, our grant proposal was declined. The declination letter read as follows:

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Dear Wayne,

Thank you for submitting an Initial Information Form for your program titled "Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program" to Cisco for funding consideration.

We have carefully completed an evaluation of the Initial Information Form you submitted. While we recognize the value of your program and applaud your contributions, we are unable to invite you to submit a formal proposal for consideration.

We hope you will consider other Programs which may assist your organization:

1) You can find more information about our product grant program including program guidelines, eligibility criteria, and how to apply at http://csr.cisco.com/pages/product-grant-program

2) For matching gifts and volunteer matching please contact volunteers at your organization that are Cisco employees to find out how you can qualify as well as http://csr.cisco.com/pages/employee-volunteers

3) Techsoup.org: The technology place for non-profits: www.techsoup.org

Broadly, our social investment strategy focuses on three areas where our products, services, and employees can make a lasting impact: Critical Human Needs and Disaster Relief, Education, and Economic Empowerment. Our approach encourages innovation to create technology-based solutions that are replicable, scalable, and sustainable. To achieve our objectives, we partner with organizations around the world that share our values and align with our focus areas. A list of our community partners can be found at http://csr.cisco.com/pages/community-partners.

Please accept our best wishes for success as you continue to provide your services.

Sincerely,
Cisco Public Benefit Investment Grant Evaluation Team

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BETF will continue to aggressively pursue funding for all 46 local BDPA chapters. However, God loves the child who has his own ... so we encourage you to support BDPA scholarship programs by making a secure online donation.