[ghrrbac-vtaa] Your Help is Needed - Scholarship Fundraiser !!! (Gentle Reminder)

From: "Michael Chapman" <machapman757@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "'GHRRBAC - Greater Hampton Roads Regional Black Alumni Council - VT'" <ghrrbac-vtaa@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 13 May 2019 13:49:03 -0400

Just a gentle reminder to encourage you to help the VT alumni of the Greater
Hampton Roads Regional Black Alumni Council (GHRRBAC) raise the necessary
funding to make a significant donation to the VT Beyond Boundaries
Scholarship Program.

Please do your part to increase the diversity and inclusion of
African-American students at VA Tech.

Please make your tax deductible check out to GHRRBAC and mail by May 30th
to:

GHRRBAC - VTAA

37 Edenbrook Drive

Hampton, VA 23666

Thank you again

Mike Chapman

========================

Hello VA Tech Black Alumni in the 757,

If you are receiving this email, you are probably on the email distribution
listserv for the Greater Hampton Roads Regional Black Alumni Council
(GHRRBAC).

Some of you may be wondering, the Greater Hampton Roads. what? :)

That's OK. It's a mouthful, but that's the name WE as a group decided on
when we officially 'formed' back in 2003. And as the name implies, it's a
constituency group of the VT Alumni Association consisting of local VA Tech
Black Alums in the 757 area who work to serve the interests of VA Tech in
our area, for more effective recruitment, retention, and support of Black
students at or pursuing VA Tech.

Back in our early days, we actually held VA Tech recruitment events in
concert with the university to increase the numbers of students of color
applying to and being accepted for admission by the university. We
routinely held admissions-sponsored and College of Engineering-sponsored
events in our area, including a number of student send-offs at event centers
and bowling alleys for those incoming freshman students who would soon
embark on that journey of becoming an official Hokie.

But over the years our activity level has waned, and this listserv has
become less of an organizational support tool and more of a communications
tool for news and opportunities that may be of interest to the local Black
alums and students they may encounter.

So why am I writing this email?

Well, one of things we did in officially organizing the GHRRBAC was to apply
for a tax-exempt EIN number and setup a checking/savings account. At the
time, Adriane James was the official President of the GHRRBAC, and I
(Michael Chapman) was the official VP/Treasurer. Over the years, I have
maintained our business account at the Langley Federal Credit Union, where
we have a balance of roughly $2,000.00.

That money is still sitting at LFCU. And it is not dues money (VT alums
don't pay dues). It is, however, residual funding that we programmed into
many of our early events (just enough money to cover the cost of the event,
plus a residual to fund the next event). All monies came from donations from
alums like yourself.

And now what?

I've had several discussions with principals who work in the VA Tech
Advancement Office. These are the folks who go around the country
maintaining good relations (face time) with VT alums like yourself, and of
course, seek alumni contributions (leadership gifts) to support the
university. One particular brother in the Advancement Office is James
Jordan, a fairly new hire.

James has been in the area many times, and he always reaches out to me and
others to see how things are going and to let us know what is going on at
VT. He's a good brother and supporter of anything to increase the diversity
and inclusion efforts at the university. But like most things at VT, it
takes money to make something happen, and the university listens the most to
those who donate the most money. Not surprising!

Anyway, while educating him on the history of the GHRRBAC on one of his
recent visits, I mentioned that the GHRRBAC had some leftover funds that
perhaps could be used towards an undergraduate scholarship to help recruit
African-American students to VA Tech. James thought that was a great idea
(Adriane James, too), and he offered the following to potentially amplify
the reach of such a scholarship:

"The Beyond Boundaries Scholars Program
<https://vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2016/11/development-beyondboundariesscholars
.html> is an initiative started by President Tim Sands to help Virginia
Tech address significant shortfalls in its ability to recruit incoming
talented students to the university. The scholarship is specifically
targeted at lowering financial barriers of entry for underrepresented and
underserved students and has become a key component in Virginia Tech's
efforts to build a more inclusive and diverse student body and community.

When a donor makes a gift to the Beyond Boundaries Scholarship program, that
gift is matched by President Sands effectively doubling the size of the gift
and providing vital financial aid resources to incoming freshman. The gifts
provided by the Beyond Boundaries Scholarship program have allowed Virginia
Tech's financial aid office to offer more competitive award letters at the
time of acceptance. Since its inception, 2 years ago, the Beyond Boundaries
Scholarship program has brought 231 students to Virginia Tech from 20
states."

So what is my ask?

I am asking the GHRRBAC to support the VT Beyond Boundaries Scholarship
program with a gift/donation of $3,000. If given before June 30, 2019, the
gift will be doubled and provide up to $6,000 of financial aid to an
incoming student.

Why $3000? That is the minimum donated amount that can be doubled.

But we only have $2000, right?

That is true. so I'm asking for donations to raise the additional $1,000.

How do I donate?

Please make a tax deductible check out to GHRRBAC and mail by May 30th to:

GHRRBAC - VTAA

37 Edenbrook Drive

Hampton, VA 23666

I will deposit all funds into the GHRRBAC account, provide a receipt and
accounting report with Tax ID # back to all who donate, and make the final
donation on behalf of the GHRBAC to the VA Tech Beyond Boundaries Scholars
Program.

Hokies - Can we make this happen quickly, by May 30th, in the spirit of Ut
Prosim?

Yes, I know we can!

So please send your donation without haste. It's not a lot of money, and
it's definitely supporting OUR cause!

If you'd like to donate via other methods (i.e., PayPal, etc.), just let me
know.

Thanks for reading this lengthy, but necessary email, and I look forward to
hearing from you soon.

Please feel free to contact me with questions or with donations using my
contact information below

Thank you.

VTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVT
Michael A. Chapman, P.E.

VA Tech BS EE 1980
<mailto:machapman757@xxxxxxxxx> machapman757@xxxxxxxxx
757-827-9971 (h)

757-344-3908 (c)
VTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVT
"The Secret Of Your Future Is Hidden In Your Daily Routine"

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[ghrrbac-vtaa] Your Help is Needed - Scholarship Fundraiser !!! (Gentle Reminder)

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