Los Angeles, CA (December 13, 2014) – Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp. today announced the company’s first ever donation to the Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD) in support of the Beyond the Bell CyberPatriot and CyberGirlz programs. The matching grant presentation was held earlier this morning during the kickoff Summit at Cal Poly Pomona.
The $100,000 matching grant will enable the CyberGirlz program to provide critical resources to train young women in technology and cyber security. Funds will be used to develop new teams of high school girls and provide additional support to the young women who have already committed to the CyberGirlz teams. In addition, the Company’s donation will be used to expand the Middle School program from 8 to 15 participating schools.
“Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp is thrilled to help Los Angeles Unified School District support young women interested in pursuing technology and engineering. Our EdAhead program was created to fuel the next generation of thinkers, doers and innovators, and the CyberGirlz and CyberPatriot programs are doing exactly that,” said Jeff Stibel, Chairman and CEO of Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp. “We encourage other local businesses to join us in support of public education in the local Los Angeles area.”
Dun & Bradstreet Credibility’s contribution is made through its unique EdAhead initiative, which is the nation’s first education savings program with a multiple match. The company first matches employees’ annual contributions to their 529 college education plans up to a certain amount. Employee-matched contributions then activate a second match, with the aggregate per office donated to the local public school systems. The LAUSD contribution is based on the matched amount of contributions that the company’s Los Angeles employees made to their 529 education accounts.
“We are grateful for this generous contribution to Beyond the Bell,” said Alvaro Cortés, Executive Director, Beyond the Bell Branch, LAUSD. “We thank Dun & Bradstreet Credibility for creating this matching grant and helping our efforts to motivate the community to support after school programs such as the CyberGirlz Summit and CyberPatriot.”
In an effort to encourage girls to pursue cybersecurity and other high-tech careers, Cal Poly Pomona’s College of Business Administration’s Center for Information Assurance hosted the second CyberGirlz Summit. More than 100 middle and high school girls of all levels from the Los Angeles Unified School District attended the daylong CyberGirlz II Summit event that included a Women in Cyber Futures panel discussion, coding and cybersecurity training, and a networking lunch.
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About EdAhead
EdAhead is the first education savings plan with a multiple match. Employee contributions activate a match by company dollars as well as a donation to local public schools. EdAhead is sparked by the power of personal action, gains momentum through the company’s shared commitment and multiplies the benefit in communities close to our homes. EdAhead is an initiative introduced by Dun & Bradstreet Credibility. Dun & Bradstreet Credibility’s EdAhead plan is being administered by Putnam 529 for AmericaSM. For more information on the EdAhead plan or to find out how your company can offer an EdAhead program for your employees,
visit www.EdAhead.org.
About Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp.
Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp. is the leading provider of credit building and credibility solutions for businesses. The company helps businesses establish their credit with a D&B D-U-N- S® Number and provides the only business credit solution available to companies looking to build, monitor, and impact their business credit and credibility. The company’s headquarters are in Los Angeles, CA with offices throughout the United States. For more information on the company, please visit www.DandB.com.
About LAUSD’s Beyond the Bell Branch
Beyond the Bell Branch (BTB) is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the second largest school district in the nation. The boundaries spread over 720 square miles and include the mega-city of Los Angeles as well as all or parts of 31 smaller municipalities plus several unincorporated sections of Southern California. BTB offers award winning out-of-school time (before and after school and Saturdays) programs at the elementary, middle, and high school level to more than 100,000 students every day. BTB’s mission is to ensure that all children and youth in LAUSD have access to free, high quality, safe, and supervised academic, enrichment, and recreation programs that inspire learning and achievement beyond the regular school day. For more information visit www.btb.lausd.net or TWITTER @BTBLA.