Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Tech Citizenship

Local techs lending a hand

Manchester, N.H., incubator gets $2,500 grant for VISTA hire

The Amoskeag Business Incubator, a Manchester, N.H.-based non-profit, has received $2,500 from St. Mary’s Bank. ABI plans to use the funds to hire an AmeriCorps VISTA member, a volunteer who commits to serve full-time for a year at a nonprofit organization or local government agency and supports the community in various ways. At ABI, the VISTA member, Jacob Bodoh, will be responsible for expanding services and resources available to the incubator’s businesses. ABI provides professional office space, technical assistance and other resources to small companies to help them grow and prosper. Started in 1997, ABI is a mixed-use incubator with a wide variety of businesses residing in it, including service, high tech, light manufacturing and distribution. It provides a number of technical services such as business plan review, quarterly goal setting and monitoring, on-site counseling, resource referrals, internship coordination through local colleges and universities, free educational seminars, networking events, infrastructure for wired and wireless Internet, a business information center and complimentary press releases.

Net Atlantic awards $1,500 scholarships to two local students

Salem-based e-mail service provider Net Atlantic Inc. held its scholarship competition for the second year, collecting nearly 30 applications and essays from public and private high schools in Salem, Peabody, Lynn, Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, and Swampscott. All were impressive, officials said, but Lawrence Cheung of Lynn and Jenny Morris of Marblehead stood out with their exceptional grades and essays, and numerous activities from which they both drew important lessons. Cheung from Lynn Classical High School, will pursue a business degree at Northeastern University in the fall. He achieved perfect SAT scores, and as captain of the LCHS tennis team, qualified for the state tournament. He also led the school’s mock trial team to become one of the top 16 in the state. He served as vice president of his class for two years. Morris, of Marblehead High School, achieved excellent grades in honors and advanced placement classes. Morris has also been instrumental in activities such as television production, student government, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and teaching canoe and kayak courses. She captained the softball team for two seasons, and played basketball and soccer. She will attend Gettysburg College. 

Leerink Swann holds golf tournament for Big Brothers Big Sisters

Health-care investment bank Leerink Swann held a golf tournament last month to support Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay in raising money for the healthy development of children through friendships with caring, responsible adults. Last year more than 130 golfers supported Big Brothers Big Sisters programs in one of the region’s largest golfing charity events. This year, more than 175 golfers took to the links at Pine Hills Golf Club in Plymouth in support of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay. Since the conception of the Leerink Swann tournament, more than $1.5 million has been raised. Last year nearly 2,500 children were served by the agency. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay promotes the healthy development of children through the nurturing of continuing, one-to-one friendships with caring, responsible adults, supported by trained professional staff. It serves approximately 2,500 children annually in 155 cities and towns in Eastern Massachusetts from Cape Ann to Greater Boston to Cape Cod and Attleboro that account for more than 50 percent of the state’s population.

Virtify chairman Webb selected as United Way Volunteer of the Year

Michael Webb, executive chairman of Cambridge-based Virtify Inc., has been selected as volunteer of the year by United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley for his involvement in the organization’s Math, Science and Technology initiative. United Way’s Math, Science and Technology initiative (MSTi) is a community partnership that engages kids in the sciences through hands-on learning in after school programs and at local science and tech companies. The initiative has grown  in recent years, doubling its size over two years to engage 1,300 youth.  Webb was the founding chair of the MSTi advisory board, overseeing the  the program from concept to a pilot serving 50 young people to an initiative serving over 1,300 youth throughout United Way of Massachusetts Bay and the Merrimack Valley service area. The honor was announced in a ceremony at Microsoft Corp.’s N.E.R.D Center in Cambridge. As of late May  2,933 high school seniors in Massachusetts had failed to pass the MCAS science exam, a requirement for graduation. United Way’s MSTI funds science curricula in after school programs and connects students, through site visits and mentoring programs, to local companies like Novartis, Waters Corp., Wolfe Laboratories, Massachusetts General Hospital, Draper Laboratory, Zoll Medical, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and PerkinElmer.