Morgan White Group joins expanding roster of corporate partners supporting Base Camp Coding Academy, a Mississippi-based non-profit computer coding program
Industry: Technology
Morgan White Group (“MWG”) is joining with other regional corporate and philanthropic partners to provide support for the expanding mission of Base Camp Coding Academy (“Base Camp”), a non-profit charity that provides under-advantaged Mississippi youth with fast-paced, focused, vocational training in computer programming to support the technology needs of local and regional employers.
Water Valley, MS (PRUnderground) January 8th, 2019
MWG’s partnership comes as Base Camp is successfully completing its inaugural three-year pilot program and expanding its vocational technology training programs which are funded by public, corporate and individual donors. Growth in Base Camp’s student population, curriculum, and facilities is expected as Base Camp embarks on the development of Mississippi’s first Rural Education and Innovation Hub.
The building for this facility has been generously donated to Base Camp by the City of Water Valley. It will require renovation and retrofitting for use by Base Camp, Northwest Community College, corporate partners, new business incubation, and other future tech and tech adjacent tenants. MWG has generously agreed to participate in a one-time capital funding campaign for the building renovation, and also in the ongoing operating support of the center. In addition to their financial support, MWG joins other corporate sponsors in providing mentorship and job shadowing opportunities for Base Camp’s students.
MWG’s partnership comes on the heels of other recent announcements related to Base Camp growth, including the promotion of Sean Anthony to Executive Director, the posting of a new instructor position and addition of John Terenzio as Software Engineer in Residence. During the first two years of the pilot, 100% of Base Camp’s graduating students have secured high-paying entry-level computer software development positions with companies throughout Mississippi and the Mid-South. Base Camp will graduate its third class of students in May 2019.
David White, President and CEO of MWG, says, “We believe Base Camp Coding Academy provides a wonderful opportunity for students who do not want to borrow money to go to college or students who believe a career in coding or IT offers a promising and successful future. It is also ideal for companies like Morgan White Group, who will gain a larger and more well-qualified pool of available talent for coding and IT jobs. It’s a win/win and it is good for Mississippi. We are excited and happy to be a part of this program.”
Base Camp co-founder Kagan Coughlin stated, “We are humbled by the generosity of MWG in agreeing to serve as both a capital and operating fund partner for Mississippi’s first Rural Education and Innovation Hub. As a tech-focused, regional leader in the insurance service industry, we are delighted they share our vision for what is possible in Mississippi.
For more information about Base Camp Coding Academy, go to https://www.basecampcodingacademy.org/. Nominations for the class of 2020 are being accepted now. To nominate a student for the full scholarship program, contact Sean Anthony at sean@basecampcodingacademy.org. The 2020 class will begin on June 3, 2019. For more information about MWG visit their website at https://morganwhite.com/.
About Base Camp Coding Academy
Located in Water Valley, MS, the non-profit Base Camp Coding Academy (BCCA) is a hands-on, challenging and fun program, designed to train recent high school graduates to be software engineers. In a small classroom setting, students work with real world technologies to learn the fundamentals of coding, app development and the life leadership skills they will need to be successful in their career and competitive in the job market. The year-long program is free to students thanks to the support of Sustaining Sponsors including the MorganWhite Group, CoreLogic, Renasant Bank, CSpire, and FedEx and aims to help address the private sector’s historical shortage of high-tech skilled labor by training local youth to fill the positions. Every year, Mississippi has 1,200 unfilled computing jobs and less than 200 computer science graduates.
Everest, also located in Water Valley, Miss., is a partnership with Northwest Mississippi Community College, The City of Water Valley, Delta Regional Authority, and corporate and philanthropic sponsors to develop Mississippi’s first Rural Education and Innovation Hub providing tech and tech adjacent workforce training in this previously underserved region of Mississippi.
