Global Payments Contributes $250,000 to the United for Racial Equity and Healing Fund

ATLANTA, Aug. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — United Way of Greater Atlanta announced today that Global Payments Inc., a leading worldwide provider of payment technology and software solutions, and long-time supporter of the organization, donated $250,000 to the United for Racial Equity and Healing Fund. This is the first large donation to the fund, which is designed to reduce and prevent racial inequities across systems that impact child…

ATLANTA, Aug. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — United Way of Greater Atlanta announced today that Global Payments Inc., a leading worldwide provider of payment technology and software solutions, and long-time supporter of the organization, donated $250,000 to the United for Racial Equity and Healing Fund. This is the first large donation to the fund, which is designed to reduce and prevent racial inequities across systems that impact child well-being (education, health, housing and economic stability) across the Greater Atlanta region. This donation puts United Way on the path to the first $1 million of donations to the fund, which it will match.

«We are grateful to Global Payments Inc. for their partnership and for showing such strong support for our community through their generous gift,» said Milton J. Little, Jr., President and CEO of United Way of Greater Atlanta. «Contributions to the United for Racial Equity and Healing Fund will be invested in structural solutions to catalyze effective, long-lasting change, address the root causes of racial inequity and prioritize hope, healing, and care during an unprecedented time.»

Nearly 500,000 children in Greater Atlanta live in communities that lack the basic opportunities and resources that all children and families need to thrive. These communities are in zip codes where the majority of residents are people of color. These are also communities where COVID-19 hit hard, exposing the health and economic disparities resulting from years of disinvestment and structural racism. The current spotlight on these disparities and recent civil unrest has created new momentum to address racial inequities and an opportunity to convert the moment into a turning point for advancing deep and widescale changes.

«At Global Payments, we stand together as a company against racism, intolerance and injustice in all their forms. Our investment highlights the importance of the work that United Way is doing to focus on the injustices that are taking place in our world today,» said Jeff Sloan, CEO of Global Payments, Inc. «Together, we will continue to work to drive positive change in the communities in which we live and work and stamp out injustice.»

Funds will be invested in organizations in Greater Atlanta that are primarily focused on racial inequity challenges in their communities and on a regional level. Priority will be given to organizations:

  • Led by (executive leadership, staff, board) and focused on Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities most directly impacted by structural racism
  • Leading policy and advocacy efforts that intersect with on-the-ground civic engagement that is focused on people of color
  • Prioritize youth voices and take a multi-generational approach
  • Working on or adjacent to racial justice efforts

To donate or learn more about the United for Racial Equity and Healing Fund, click here.

About United Way of Greater Atlanta
United Way of Greater Atlanta, the largest United Way chapter in the nation, focuses on ensuring that every child in Atlanta has the opportunity to reach his or her full potential. The organization invests in more than 200 programs in 13 counties through the Child Well-Being Impact Fund and works to help children succeed in school, improve financial stability of families, provide affordable and accessible healthcare and end homelessness. For more information, visit:unitedwayatlanta.org or FacebookLinkedInTwitter and Instagram.

About Global Payments
Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN) is a leading pure play payments technology company delivering innovative software and services to our customers globally. Our technologies, services and employee expertise enable us to provide a broad range of solutions that allow our customers to operate their businesses more efficiently across a variety of channels around the world.

Headquartered in Georgia with nearly 24,000 employees worldwide, Global Payments is a member of the S&P 500 with worldwide reach spanning over 100 countries throughout North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America. For more information, visit www.globalpaymentsinc.com and follow Global Payments on Twitter (@globalpayinc), LinkedIn and Facebook.

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SOURCE United Way of Greater Atlanta

Pull-Ups® Introduces New Leaf™, a Super Soft Training Underwear with Plant-Based* Ingredients featuring Exclusive Designs from Disney’s «Frozen II»

NEENAH, Wis., Aug. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Pull-Ups®, the best-selling training underwear on the market** celebrates the launch of its newest product, New Leaf™. Pull-Ups® New Leaf™ is made with plant-based* ingredients like sugarcane and fluff pulp, carefully selected and crafted to provide the same level of protection…

NEENAH, Wis., Aug. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Pull-Ups®, the best-selling training underwear on the market** celebrates the launch of its newest product, New Leaf™. Pull-Ups® New Leaf™ is made with plant-based* ingredients like sugarcane and fluff pulp, carefully selected and crafted to provide the same level of protection parents know and trust from the Pull-Ups® brand. Pull-Ups® New Leaf™ is the softest training underwear available on the market, making it perfect to keep your Big Kid comfortable & confident during the potty training process.

Pull-Ups® New Leaf™ also features exclusive designs from Disney’s «Frozen II» to help get Big Kids excited and engaged in the potty training process. Pull-Ups® New Leaf™ offers four different designs featuring a mix of characters including Olaf, Elsa, Anna, Sven and Kristoff. Every Pull-Ups® New Leaf™ box also includes a «Frozen II» coloring mat on the inside of the cardboard box for kids to color.

«Pull-Ups® understands the potty training journey is a big milestone for both parents and Big Kids,» said Martin Knight-Jones, Pull-Ups® General Manager for North America. «Pull-Ups® New Leaf™ offers parents the trusted protection they know and love from Pull-Ups® with fun ‘Frozen II’ designs, superior softness, and plant-based ingredients to help keep their Big Kids comfortable & confident on their journey to independence.»

In addition to fun «Frozen II» designs, superior softness and plant-based* ingredients, Pull-Ups® New Leaf™ features:

  • Hypoallergenic and breathable materials made without harsh ingredients for healthy skin
  • Soft, refastenable sides that make it easy to change your Big Kid quickly and effortlessly
  • Cottony soft and gentle leak protection designed to make your Big Kid feel comfy and confident with Pull-Ups® trusted protection
  • A special snowflake design that fades when wet to help your Big Kid learn how to potty train

Pull-Ups® New Leaf™ is now available at retailers nationwide in sizes 2T-3T, 3T-4T and 4T-5T. To learn more about Pull-Ups® New Leaf™ or for potty training tips and tricks, please visit Pull-Ups.com or follow us on Facebook (@Pull-Ups), Twitter (@PullUpsBigKid) and Instagram (@PullUps). You can also download the Pull-Ups® Voice Assistant on Amazon Alexa or Google Home to enhance the potty training experience with features like Disney Character calls, music and potty break reminders to engage and motivate children through the journey of potty training.

About Kimberly-Clark
Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) and its trusted brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 175 countries. Fueled by ingenuity, creativity, and an understanding of people’s most essential needs, we create products that help individuals experience more of what’s important to them. Our portfolio of brands, including Huggies, Kleenex, Scott, Kotex, Cottonelle, Poise, Depend, Andrex, Pull-Ups, GoodNites, Intimus, Neve, Plenitud, Viva and WypAll, hold the No. 1 or No. 2 share position in 80 countries. We use sustainable practices that support a healthy planet, build stronger communities, and ensure our business thrives for decades to come. To keep up with the latest news and to learn more about the company’s 148-year history of innovation, visit kimberly-clark.com.

[KMB-B]

*28% by weight
**based on US Nielsen data ending 7/31/2020

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SOURCE Kimberly-Clark Corporation

Wyzant Launches Homeschooling Tutor Concierge Service

CHICAGO, Aug. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Wyzant, the largest tutoring marketplace in the U.S., today launched the Group & Individual Homeschooling Tutor Concierge

CHICAGO, Aug. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Wyzant, the largest tutoring marketplace in the U.S., today launched the Group & Individual Homeschooling Tutor Concierge Service to aid parents who are looking for online tutors to supplement their children’s learning during the pandemic. Wyzant has more than 65,000 tutors on its platform, many specializing in, and qualified to offer high-quality homeschooling to students this year.

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended the education system in the United States. Last month, as dozens of U.S. cities began to announce fully remote learning for fall, parents who previously relied on public, private or charter schools began to weigh homeschooling ‘pods’ either as supplemental solutions during the year or as stand-alone curriculum. Normally, about three percent of U.S. children are homeschooled, but this year there are predictions that as many as 40 percent of parents will homeschool their children.

«There is a national uncertainty about returning to school for the fall of 2020 and many districts are still figuring out their plans and what they can offer students and families» said Elaine Richards, president and COO of Wyzant. «Most children are already facing learning loss after a difficult spring with school interruptions and a transition to remote learning. Parents are now scrambling to figure out a different learning path this fall that best suits their family’s lifestyle.»

Wyzant has seen homeschooling requests surge on its platform by 2,450% percent as schools across the country announce plans for remote or hybrid learning for the fall.

Wyzant’s new Virtual Homeschooling Concierge Service works by helping parents connect with qualified teachers who fit their children’s needs to offer the most personalized learning experience possible. Families provide information about their needs including: group size, student grade ranges, subjects of interest, times of day and days of the week they want tutoring. Wyzant then connects families with top-rated tutors on their platform whose profiles match those needs. Interested and available tutors will reach out to the family directly through the Wyzant platform to discuss details and coordinate times.

«Our goal at Wyzant is to be a go-to resource for families during this challenging moment when both children and their parents are experiencing extremely high levels of stress around learning,» said Elaine Richards, president and COO of Wyzant. «Our tutors are prepared to work hand in hand with families, crafting individualized educational plans and providing that much-needed support.»

About Wyzant: Since 2005, Wyzant has offered a platform featuring high quality tutors instructing in subjects ranging from math and science to computer programming and foreign languages. Our powerful online system allows you and your student to connect with a professional tutor, book lessons and attend sessions from the safety of your home. With Wyzant, there are no commitments or expensive pre-paid packages. Every lesson is pay-as-you-go, and if you don’t love your first hour with a new tutor, it’s free, guaranteed.

 

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SOURCE Wyzant

Report Finds $500M in Cost Savings and Reduced Environmental Impacts and Risk with Planned Offshore Wind Transmission for New York

WAKEFIELD, Mass., Aug. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — A new report on offshore wind transmission by economic consulting firm The Brattle Group finds electric grid cost savings of over $500 million and significantly reduced environmental impacts and project risks in developing a multi-user, planned…

WAKEFIELD, Mass., Aug. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — A new report on offshore wind transmission by economic consulting firm The Brattle Group finds electric grid cost savings of over $500 million and significantly reduced environmental impacts and project risks in developing a multi-user, planned transmission system for offshore wind in New York. The report, Offshore Wind Transmission: An Analysis of Options for New York, evaluates the challenges of connecting each wind farm to shore individually in comparison to a planned approach—a high-capacity offshore wind transmission system serving multiple wind farms, reducing marine cabling, and optimizing onshore landing points and electric substations.

The report will be presented in a webinar co-hosted by Anbaric and the New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund on Thursday, August 6th at 10 a.m. The event is co-sponsored by Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and registration is free and open to the public. 

Brattle’s research, supported by engineering firms PTerra and Intertek, underscores the pivotal role of transmission planning in the development of New York’s offshore wind industry. The approach of relying on individual generator lead lines would require extensive onshore grid upgrades costing four times as much as a planned approach. By using fewer cable routes and more robust grid connections, a planned transmission system reduces grid congestion and the need for expensive, disruptive onshore transmission upgrades, thereby also reducing the impacts on the marine environment and coastal communities.

«Substantial additional offshore wind development will be necessary to achieve New York’s clean energy goals,» said Johannes Pfeifenberger, a Brattle principal and a study coauthor. «At the scale considered by New York, a planned approach to offshore transmission will significantly reduce the environmental footprint and the overall costs and feasibility risks of offshore wind generation.»

Among the report’s other findings:

  • Planned offshore transmission significantly reduces seabed marine cabling. A planned transmission approach would reduce cabling by almost 60%, preventing 660 miles of seabed disturbance and significantly reducing impact on fisheries and marine ecosystems.
  • Planning and procuring transmission separately from generation increases competition and can reduce transmission costs 20–30%, according to studies of UK offshore transmission and US onshore transmission trends. It also increases competition for offshore wind generation.
  • Planned transmission would more fully utilize offshore wind lease areas and more easily reduce offshore wind curtailment. A planned transmission approach utilizing more efficient direct current technology would deliver more power to shore than alternating current technology. In an unplanned system, after each developer interconnects the bulk of their lease site, it may be cost-prohibitive to interconnect the residual areas in the lease, underutilizing potential wind power.

«Developing a shared ocean grid is critical to achieving New York’s ambitious offshore wind goals,» said Kevin Knobloch, President of Anbaric’s New York OceanGrid. «The next phase in achieving New York’s goals depends on building transmission infrastructure in a way that reduces overall costs and feasibility risks, protects fisheries, coastal communities and the environment, and enables developing the offshore wind industry to scale.»

About Anbaric:
Anbaric is a majority employee-owned, US-based company focused on planning and scaling offshore trans­mission. The company is a partnership between the Anbaric partners and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, which as of December 31, 2019, had net assets under management of $207.4 billion. Anbaric helped spearhead the development of two similar subsea projects between PJM and the NYISO which were delivered on schedule and on budget. Anbaric is committed to developing transmission systems for offshore wind in the US with a focus on Southern New England, New Jersey and New York as well as in Canada. For more information visit www.anbaric.com.

About The Brattle Group:
The Brattle Group answers complex economic, finance, and regulatory questions for corporations, law firms, and governments around the world. We are distinguished by the clarity of our insights and the credibility of our experts, which include leading international academics and industry specialists. Brattle has over 350 talented professionals across three continents. For more information, please visit www.brattle.com.

Contact: Erin Clarke, Anbaric
eclarke@anbaric.com
781-708-0444

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SOURCE Anbaric

Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America Honors Third Anniversary Of RADICAVA® (edaravone) In The U.S. & Company’s Support Of ALS Community

JERSEY CITY, N.J., Aug. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc. (MTPA) today announced updates related to the company’s commitment to the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) community, in celebration of the third anniversary of the U.S. availability of RADICAVA® (edaravone).

JERSEY CITY, N.J., Aug. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc. (MTPA) today announced updates related to the company’s commitment to the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) community, in celebration of the third anniversary of the U.S. availability of RADICAVA® (edaravone).

«Throughout the last three years, we have been motivated by the strength and determination of the ALS community,» said Atsushi Fujimoto, President, MTPA. «This anniversary comes at a time when COVID-19 has impacted so many, and now more than ever we remain focused on our mission of helping as many patients as possible. We are committed to doing what we can to support the evolving needs of ALS patients, caregivers and healthcare providers during the pandemic.»

As part of MTPA’s ongoing work to support the ALS advocacy community, the company has sponsored a Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) educational webinar series covering multiple pandemic-related topics, such as what ALS patients can expect from virtual medical visits.

«We’re delighted to collaborate with MTPA, a great supporter of educational programming in ALS. MTPA has sponsored a wide range of high-impact educational programs for patients, families, caregivers and professional audiences this year,» said Lynn O’Connor Vos, President and CEO of MDA. «We look forward to continuing this partnership for many years to come.»

Additional MTPA recent efforts to help the community include:

  • To address healthcare provider (HCP) office needs driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and remote work situations, MTPA established new processes to enable HCPs to use electronic fax systems and DocuSign® to send the completed Benefits Investigation and Enrollment Forms for their patients, in addition to the standard submission options.
  • A COVID-19 resource page has been added to the MTPA corporate website to help answer questions that patients may have about accessing treatment during the pandemic.
  • MTPA recently launched the RADICAVA JourneyMate™ program offering live nurse educational phone support for ALS patients and caregivers to help answer questions about the disease and treatment. For more information, call 1-855-4-JRNY-M8, or 1-855-457-6968, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET Monday – Friday. The JourneyMate program does not give medical advice.
  • To help raise awareness about the impact of ALS on the veterans community, MTPA shared this patient story.
  • The ALS Care Locator online tool continues to be expanded, and now has more than 270 HCPs and 1,019 infusion centers listed.
  • Over the last year, MTPA launched the REFINE-ALS study which aims to identify biomarkers that might serve as quantifiable biological nonclinical measures of edaravone effects in ALS.

More than 5,000 U.S. patients have received RADICAVA since it became available on August 8, 2017. In addition, more than 1,300 HCPs have prescribed the treatment in that time.1

«We are privileged to have the opportunity to help the ALS community and look forward to continuing our efforts to fight this this terrible, debilitating disease,» Fujimoto added.

About Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc.
Based in Jersey City, N.J., Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc. (MTPA) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation’s (MTPC) 100 percent owned U.S. holding company, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Holdings America, Inc. MTPA is dedicated to delivering innovative products that address the unmet medical needs of patients in North America. It was established by MTPC to commercialize approved pharmaceutical products in North America with plans to expand its product line through collaborations with partners. For more information, please visit www.mt-pharma-america.com or follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Overview of Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation
Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma, which was founded in 1678, has its headquarters in Doshomachi, Osaka, which is the birthplace of Japan’s pharmaceutical industry. With business centered on ethical pharmaceuticals, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma is a well-established company with one of the longest histories of pharmaceutical companies in Japan.2 In accordance with the corporate philosophy of «contributing to the healthier lives of people around the world through the creation of pharmaceuticals,» the Company formulated the key concept of Open Up the Future under the Medium-Term Management Plan 2016-2020. Through the discovery of drugs that address unmet medical needs, centered on its priority disease areas — immune-inflammation diseases, diabetes and kidney, central nervous system, and vaccines — Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma will strive to contribute to the health of patients around the world. MTPC is the parent company of MTPA and MTDA. For more information, go to http://www.mt-pharma.co.jp/.

About RADICAVA® (edaravone)
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved RADICAVA® (edaravone) on May 5, 2017, as a treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).3 In a pivotal trial, people given RADICAVA experienced a 33 percent slower rate of decline in the loss of physical function, compared to placebo as measured by the ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R), a validated rating instrument for monitoring the progression of disability in people with ALS.4,5 Edaravone was discovered and developed for ALS by Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation (MTPC) and commercialized in the U.S. by Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc. MTPC group companies began researching ALS in 2001 through an iterative clinical platform over a 13-year period. In 2015, edaravone was approved for use as a treatment for ALS in Japan and South Korea. Marketing authorization was granted in Canada in October 2018 and Switzerland in January 2019.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
Before you receive RADICAVA, tell your healthcare provider about all of your medical conditions, including if you:

  • have asthma.
  • are allergic to other medicines.
  • are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if RADICAVA will harm your unborn baby.
  • are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if RADICAVA passes into your breast milk. You and your healthcare provider should decide if you will receive RADICAVA or breastfeed.

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

What are the possible side effects of RADICAVA?

  • RADICAVA may cause serious side effects including hypersensitivity (allergic) reactions and sulfite allergic reactions.
  • Hypersensitivity reactions have happened in people receiving RADICAVA and can happen after your infusion is finished.
  • RADICAVA contains sodium bisulfite, a sulfite that may cause a type of allergic reaction that can be serious and life-threatening. Sodium bisulfite can also cause less severe asthma episodes in certain people. Sulfite sensitivity can happen more often in people who have asthma than in people who do not have asthma.
  • Tell your healthcare provider right away or go to the nearest emergency room if you have any of the following symptoms: hives; swelling of the lips, tongue, or face; fainting; breathing problems; wheezing; trouble swallowing; dizziness; itching; or an asthma attack (in people with asthma).
  • Your healthcare provider will monitor you during treatment to watch for signs and symptoms of all the serious side effects.

The most common side effects of RADICAVA include bruising (contusion), problems walking (gait disturbance), and headache.

These are not all the possible side effects of RADICAVA. Call your healthcare provider for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc. at 1-888-292-0058 or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch.

For more information, including full Prescribing Information and Patient Information, please visit www.RADICAVA.com.

All company, product and trade names or other trade or service marks are the property of their respective owners.

Media inquiries:
Debbie Etchison
908-340-8578
Media_MTPA@mt-pharma-us.com

1 Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America Inc., Data on File as of August 2020. Based on internal data not independently verified.
2 Research by TOKYO SHOKO RESEARCH, LTD.
3 Research by TOKYO SHOKO RESEARCH, LTD.
4 RADICAVA® U.S. Prescribing Information. August 2018.
5 Simon, N. G., Turner, M. R., Vucic, S., Al-Chalabi, A., Shefner, J., Lomen-Hoerth, C., & Kiernan, M. C. (2014). Quantifying Disease Progression in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Annals of Neurology, 76(5), 643–657.http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ana.24273

 

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SOURCE Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc.

Orchestry Launches Comprehensive Governance, Adoption & Enablement Platform for Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams & SharePoint

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — The «largest work-from-home experiment» has morphed into the reality of managing a completely remote digital workforce with more than 75 million daily active Microsoft Teams users. As a result, Microsoft 365 Administrators assume the insurmountable role of providing each employee with access to the right tools, at the right time and for the right purpose, entirely remotely.

Orchestry takes the guesswork out of «what to use when» in…

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — The «largest work-from-home experiment» has morphed into the reality of managing a completely remote digital workforce with more than 75 million daily active Microsoft Teams users. As a result, Microsoft 365 Administrators assume the insurmountable role of providing each employee with access to the right tools, at the right time and for the right purpose, entirely remotely.

Orchestry takes the guesswork out of «what to use when» in Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) with pre-built Workspace Templates, intelligent Workspace Provisioning, an informative Workspace Directory and powerful governance features to enable both IT Administrators and end-users throughout the organization.

«Orchestry was born out of the challenges digital workers are facing today in having to become technology experts to know which tool to use when for what job,» shares Michal Pisarek, CEO of Orchestry. He continues, «Orchestry removes the technology conversation to enable a business-first conversation around Microsoft 365, empowering immediate adoption and productivity.»

The true value behind Orchestry is the quick wins it delivers for Microsoft 365 governance and adoption. Derived from hundreds of successful implementations by Microsoft 365 architects and SharePoint MVPs, Orchestry is delivered cost-effectively, rapidly and iteratively for organizations.

Orchestry is more than a standard templating and governance tool for Microsoft Teams. The comprehensive platform is not only for Microsoft Teams but also for SharePoint Online, Microsoft Planner and OneNote as well as other Microsoft 365 business applications through a single, unified interface.

«I was blown away the first time I experienced Orchestry. Orchestry has truly pioneered the first comprehensive governance, adoption and enablement tool for Microsoft 365, including Microsoft Teams, that actually delivers control while empowering accessibility to all users,» elates W. Perry Underdown, Managing Partner, WUNDERHUB, and Orchestry MVP user. 

Orchestry provides a single point of access for both end-users and Microsoft 365 Administrators to facilitate provisioning in Microsoft Teams and SharePoint Online, without the complexity of having to manage various workloads simultaneously.

Orchestry is just at its tipping point, as the platform is rapidly expanding to deliver a personalized, single-pane view to every end-user. The Digital Dashboard will become the entry point to all the critical Microsoft 365 business applications, including Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Teams, Outlook Calendar, Workspace Requests, SharePoint Sites, Office 365 Documents and more. 

About Orchestry

Orchestry makes work simple in Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams and SharePoint Online with its comprehensive enablement, adoption and standardization platform. Orchestry enables organizations to define a winning Microsoft 365 adoption and change management strategy. Built by SharePoint MVPs and Microsoft 365 experts, Orchestry helps organizations formulate a roadmap of «what to use when» in Microsoft 365 through increasing technology adoption, empowering governance and simplifying provisioning organization-wide. Learn more: https://www.orchestry.com.

Media Contact: 
Erica Hakonson 
Orchestry CMO
erica@orchestry.com 
www.orchestry.com  

Related Images

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Orchestry – Work Made Simple in Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams and SharePoint Online
Orchestry makes work simple in Office 365, Microsoft Teams and SharePoint

Related Links

Orchestry

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SOURCE Orchestry Software Inc.

Legion M Announces Seventh Fundraising Round As It Passes $10M With More Than 25,000 Fan-based Investors

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Legion M, the world’s first fan-owned entertainment company, has announced its seventh round of fundraising today. In a little over four years, the company has raised over $10,000,000 from more than 25,000 investors as it becomes one of the most successful JOBS Act companies in history. Legion M’s unique fan-driven investor model revolutionizes the way entertainment is made and supported in

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Legion M, the world’s first fan-owned entertainment company, has announced its seventh round of fundraising today. In a little over four years, the company has raised over $10,000,000 from more than 25,000 investors as it becomes one of the most successful JOBS Act companies in history. Legion M’s unique fan-driven investor model revolutionizes the way entertainment is made and supported in Hollywood. Individuals who are interested in becoming a co-owner can invest today. 

As their innovative equity-crowdfunding model continues to prove successful, Legion M is pushing the boundaries of Hollywood even further announcing a disruptive marketing model for this new round. For the next 6 weeks, Legion M is re-allocating funds that they would typically spend on digital advertising and directing those funds toward COVID-19 affected businesses as part of their rewards program for seventh round fan-investors. Partner companies that will benefit include Alamo Drafthouse, Los Angeles Comic-Con, Entertainment Earth and International Screenwriters’ Association among others.

The company’s upcoming projects include Archenemy starring Joe Manganiello and written/directed by Adam Egypt Mortimer, alien sci-fi comedy Save Yourselves! And the female-led feature film (in development) Girl With No Name, among others to be announced in the coming months.

«As the nation begins to emerge from months of quarantine, it is so important for us to give back to our friends and allies in the entertainment community who need it most during these challenging times,» said Paul Scanlan, Legion M’s co-founder and CEO. «We are thrilled to be implementing this new marketing model that shifts funds away from advertising and into the community, benefiting both our fans who receive the rewards and the industry at large.»

«We love the Legion M community and are proud to be both early supporters and members,» said Alamo Drafthouse CEO Tim League. «We greatly appreciate their support during these weird times.»

Entertainment Earth President Jason Labowitz added, «It’s an honor to be part of Legion M’s next round of funding. When pop culture and collecting collide, anything is possible! Showing off your love of pop culture is even easier now that you score Entertainment Earth perks when you invest with Legion M. We look forward to our future working together.»

«At its heart, Legion M is about uniting fans to shape an industry we so deeply care about,» said Jeff Annison, Legion M’s co-founder and president. «With over 100,000 fans and over 25,000 fan-investors, Legion M continues to showcase the success of equity crowdfunding and we are so proud of all that we have accomplished in just four years.»

Legion M has invested in or helped produce some of the most beloved genre hits in the industry including the Anne Hathaway fronted Colossal, Kevin Smith’s Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, 2019 Sundance documentary Memory: The Origins of Alien, and the 2018 critically-acclaimed revenge thriller Mandy, starring Nicolas Cage.

In addition to helping select, fund, and support Legion-M projects, investors are given exclusive behind the scenes access as Legion M develops and distributes film, TV, and virtual reality projects. In this seventh round, shareholders will get access to set visits, premieres, special events, and a shopping spree to the Legion M store along with COVID affected businesses. The International Screenwriters’ Association is also offering six month and twelve month ISAConnect memberships that will be available at the 200 and 500 investment levels.

Interested investors can get involved today for as little as $100 and the investment profile for Legion M can be found HERE. Partner companies and communities looking to participate in the program can find more information at www.legionM.com or email the Legion M team directly at team@legionm.com.

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SOURCE Legion M

ORock System Integration Expertise Boosts Agility and DevSecOps of Army Cyber Forces

RESTON, Va., Aug. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — ORock® Technologies, Inc., a hybrid cloud service provider, today announced it has engineered a software factory aimed at solving existing deployment problems for U.S. Army cyber warriors.

RESTON, Va., Aug. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — ORock® Technologies, Inc., a hybrid cloud service provider, today announced it has engineered a software factory aimed at solving existing deployment problems for U.S. Army cyber warriors.

Last week, Applied Cyber Technologies (ACT) – a component of the Army’s PEO EIS’s Defense Cyber Operations (DCO) program – announced key milestones in its DRUID prototype, aka Defense Cyber Operations Resource for Updates, on Innovation and Development.

The U.S. Army project allows vendors and the government to collaborate in code and tighten the feedback loop between industry and the U.S. Army. DRUID applies a modern workflow to legacy virtual machines allowing the ACT office to adopt the latest methods of application delivery.

In the past, defense and business alike mobilized ‘feet on ground’ and suffered delays in order to reconfigure equipment. The DRUID prototype allows vendors to collaborate from anywhere that has internet access. The ORock engineered system wove software vendors onto a common pre-hardened baseline cloud image.

«DRUID solves this legacy problem in the Army’s IT infrastructure by applying modern continuous integration processes and workflows to legacy systems and deployment models,» said Lt. Col. Pete Amara, identified in the press release as ACT’s product lead.

Read the ACT and PEO Press Release.

ORock, acting as the center of innovation, provided the following:

  • Developmental acceleration and automation of the PEO’s software funnel.
  • A common toolchain for government and industry to work on the same set of problems.
  • Secure hosting of the publicly accessible infrastructure.
  • A DevSecOps workflow that brings security to the forefront of the development process instead of being an afterthought.

«The PEO needed a solution that would automate and harden its software supply chain in a short amount of time,» said Donny Davis, VP of Solutions Architecture at ORock. «Before the PEO buys a software solution, it needs to be certain it complies with government security requirements. ORock system integration tools and skills enabled these vendors to build secure images in hours instead of weeks or months.»

About ORock Technologies
ORock Technologies delivers hybrid cloud and IaaS solutions designed for secure, compliant data operations. ORock helps commercial organizations and government agencies to protect their most sensitive data, control costs, and minimize vendor lock-in while enabling a range of IT modernization, application hosting, migration, and edge computing initiatives. ORock’s private fiber optic backbone network and enterprise-grade open source cloud feature the latest HPE Gen10 secure hardware and a flat-rate OPEX billing model with no data egress fees. They support hybrid, private, and multicloud capabilities while providing superior security, performance, predictability, and control.

Learn more about ORock.

Contact:
Dean Lombardo
Content Manager
ORock Technologies, Inc.
571-386-0201
dlombardo@orocktech.com

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SOURCE ORock Technologies, Inc.

«Global Impact Year» Offers College Freshmen an Affordable Alternative to Taking a Year Off

PORTLAND, Ore., Aug. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Verto Education, which allows students to take a «gap year without the gap,» today announced the launch of Global Impact Year, a year-long program designed to provide college freshmen with a safe and affordable alternative to the traditional first-year experience. The program, which blends immersive online and in-person learning experiences, was developed in partnership with

PORTLAND, Ore., Aug. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Verto Education, which allows students to take a «gap year without the gap,» today announced the launch of Global Impact Year, a year-long program designed to provide college freshmen with a safe and affordable alternative to the traditional first-year experience. The program, which blends immersive online and in-person learning experiences, was developed in partnership with Minerva Project, the groundbreaking educational innovator that has received international recognition for its rigor, engaging virtual platform and pedagogy, and global focus.

«This is about transforming what might otherwise be a ‘college crisis’ into a unique freshman year, and Minerva is pleased to be collaborating on this exciting initiative,» said Ben Nelson, the founder and CEO of Minerva. «Together, we have developed an affordable program that enables students around the world to launch their college careers with a powerful, global lens.»

According to a recent survey, nearly three-quarters of students do not think they will be back on campus next term and over 90 percent do not want to pay full tuition for an online semester. In response to student input, Verto Education has built one of the country’s most affordable freshman year programs that blends a dynamic online experience with small-group instruction abroad as each class has no more than 25 students. Students with family incomes under $100,000 can pay as little as $10,000 for their first year of college, compared to $36,880, the 2019-20 national average college tuition for a private four-year institution.

«Our goal is to create an affordable, year-long experience that doesn’t force students into difficult tradeoffs. By partnering with Minerva, we’re pairing a robust academic experience with a global worldview during an incredibly important moment in society,» said Mitch Gordon, co-founder and president of Verto Education. «We believe strongly that we need a fresh approach to college and that the current model prioritizes wealthy students and has artificial barriers. Through our innovative approach to a freshman year of college, we help our students mature, build emotional awareness and empathy, learn, and gain admission to a great four-year college. This is transformative not only for their college experience, but also for the rest of their lives.»

The first semester will take place virtually in the Forum™ learning environment, incorporating rich coursework co-designed with Minerva’s pedagogical and curricular expertise. Students will learn through dynamic and highly engaging seminars in which they collaborate with their peers to learn new concepts and frameworks that allow them to solve real-world challenges. Students can earn up to 16 credit hours per semester, followed by guaranteed admission to a network of more than 45 U.S. colleges. Designed to build self-awareness and develop critical skills like problem solving, logical reasoning, and collaboration, students will take a wide array of classes on timely subjects such as global health, American politics, and critical thinking. Students participating in the Global Impact Year are placed in a year-long cohort that extends into spring 2021, where students will study in locations like New Zealand, Spain, London, Costa Rica, and Hawaii. All credits earned will seamlessly transfer to one of Verto’s 45 public and private partner universities including William & Mary, the University of Oregon, and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

About Verto Education

Verto Education allows students to take a «gap year without the gap» by earning their first semester of college credit while exploring the world in places like New Zealand, Spain, and Costa Rica. When they return recharged and ready, students can transfer their new knowledge, skills, and credits to more than 45 public and private universities. Verto helps students start college confident and prepared through life-changing experiences that don’t come at the expense of graduating in four years.

About Minerva Project

Minerva Project is a leading educational innovator, providing top-tier educational programs through its flagship Minerva Schools at KGI as well as other educational and corporate partners. Founded by Ben Nelson in 2011, Minerva’s mission is to nurture critical wisdom for the sake of the world. Building upon the best traditions of liberal arts and sciences education, Minerva is committed to preparing global leaders and innovators for the complexities of the twenty-first century. Its groundbreaking creation of a new university program is detailed in the book Building the Intentional University: Minerva and the Future of Higher Education (MIT Press).

 

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SOURCE Verto Education

Research Triangle Employers Partner with Nonprofit to Prepare Local Jobseekers for High-Wage Careers

RALEIGH, N.C., Aug. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Merit America, a nonprofit that partners with major employers to prepare workers to thrive in higher-wage jobs, today announced the expansion of its program to North Carolina. The Raleigh-Durham program,…

RALEIGH, N.C., Aug. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Merit America, a nonprofit that partners with major employers to prepare workers to thrive in higher-wage jobs, today announced the expansion of its program to North Carolina. The Raleigh-Durham program, which joins Merit America’s existing sites in the greater Washington, DC region and Dallas-Fort Worth, was developed in partnership with major tech employers including Amazon, Google and Infosys.

«The Raleigh-Durham area’s fast-growing technology community has a critical role to play in ensuring an equitable economic recovery after COVID-19,» said Mary-Ann Baldwin, mayor of Raleigh. «Forward-thinking partnerships between local employers like Infosys, and training providers focused on the region’s most in-demand skills, can help create new pathways to opportunity for displaced workers across the region.»

«The turmoil of the past few months has exacerbated both the persistent talent shortages faced by Research Triangle tech employers, and the endemic equity gaps that are pervasive throughout the U.S. workforce,» said Steve Schewel, mayor of Durham. «Partnerships like this one are helping to not only address urgent economic needs in the region — but also begin the process of building a more just, resilient economy in the months and years to come.»

The Research Triangle has quickly become one of the nation’s hubs of tech talent: over the past five years, the number of tech jobs in the region has grown at double the rate of the country as a whole. Demand for tech jobs has continued even in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 20,000 positions still open across the state as of last month. In response, employers across the region are in search of new strategies that can both close talent gaps and build a more diverse and inclusive workforce.

«For so many workers across North Carolina, the tech industry can provide a pathway to stable and fulfilling careers at a time of unprecedented economic uncertainty,» said Ravi Kumar, President and Deputy Chief Operating Officer at Infosys. «Merit America’s dynamic approach to skills-based training is enabling us to diversify our workforce and identify exceptionally qualified individuals in the region.»

Founded in 2018, Merit America works with leading employers to build new pathways to upwardly mobile careers for Americans without college degrees. Its unique model, which brings together career-aligned online learning programs with hands-on mentorship, has led to an average salary increase of more than $18,000 for hundreds of graduates in Washington, DC, and Dallas. In the months since social distancing measures have taken effect, Merit America has adapted all of its programs to continue serving working learners through an all-online model that incorporates both academic support and personalized coaching.

«Workers without college degrees have borne the brunt of the economic downturn from the pandemic — and often have limited access to the training and support that can help them shift into new careers,» said Connor Diemand-Yauman, co-CEO of Merit America. «As a hotspot of one of the country’s fastest-growing industries, North Carolina is uniquely positioned to provide those resources — in ways that can accelerate economic mobility for the workers who need it most.»

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SOURCE Merit America