As the school year kicks off virtually, many students are in need of one thing, computers. First-year teacher Trivia Payne ran into this problem during the first month of her new job. Half of her students did not have access to the computers needed to participate in class.
"I realized that they didn't have computers, they were on phones. Or if they had a computer, the sound was all jumbled up," she said.
Looking to help her students, the Sinclair Lane Elementary School teacher reached out to friends, family and those in the nearby Baltimore community for help.
"I remember, on my lunch break, I started texting people, 'If you have any laptops, please let me know," she added.
Shortly thereafter, she was connected to Mission Fulfilled 2030 founder Gerald Moore. After hearing about Payne's call to action, Moore made a commitment to get her student's the tools needed to succeed.
"I immediately decided that I'm going to get your kids Chromebooks because this is unnecessary. They should have the opportunity to be successful," Moore declared.
A week later, Moore was able to distribute 10 new Chromebooks to Payne's students. After meeting his initial goal, Moore set out to expand his operation.
"My goal right now is to service 100 kids here in the Baltimore area," he said.
Moore is a Virginia resident and former cybersecurity engineer. He left his career to found Mission Fulfilled 2030, a nonprofit that seeks to support young Black men interested in tech.
"The mission is to inspire, educate and activate young Black males in technology. Today, Black males make up less than 5% of the high-tech and STEM workforce," he said.
Moore's 2030 Mission Fulfilled is currently accepting donations and asks anyone in the area in need of a laptop to reach out for support.
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