Birch Invests in Local Education Initiative

ATLANTA, July 31, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Birch Communications, Inc., ("Birch") a leading nationwide provider of communications, network and cloud services to small, mid-sized, enterprise and wholesale businesses, continues its commitment to education with a significant donation to Macon Charter Academy (MCA), which is a new charter school located in Macon, Georgia, that is scheduled to open next month.  

Birch served as a technology consultant during the construction of the school and has donated startup funding, computer equipment and furniture to this worthy cause.  In addition, Birch is outfitting the school with Metro-Fiber connectivity, TotalCloud® PBX service and TotalCloud® Data Center service.  Birch's philanthropic activity is rooted in its core values:  Communications, Connectivity and Commitment.         

MCA, an International Baccalaureate ("IB") applicant, will offer two academic programs for school children K-8.  The sprawling 45,000 square foot campus located in the Pleasant Hill neighborhood in Macon, Georgia (Birch's original hometown) can accommodate upward of 900 children and includes a gymnasium, fine arts building, auditorium and technology center.  Upon certification from the International Baccalaureate organization, the Primary Years program for grades K-5 and Middle Years program for grades 6-8 will prepare children for the IB program already offered at Central High School in Macon.  Charter schools have a fresh approach to education; they are independent, public and tuition-free institutions and as such are heavily dependent upon outside champions like Birch.

"MCA has been a labor of love for me over the past three years.  As a founding board member, I was motivated by my desire to help improve educational choice, diversity and quality in Macon.  I am also very excited to help enhance the educational experience by merging education with technology.  Technology and education are becoming synonymous; they are interdependent in today's connected world, and as a technology company, we have a duty to facilitate this relationship in the communities where we live and work," said Vincent Oddo, President and CEO of Birch. "Today, Birch maintains one of its three Operations Centers in Macon and employs more than 300 full-time staff at that center.  Many of the inaugural student body at MCA will be the children, grandchildren, relatives and friends of our staff."

"Mr. Oddo's involvement has been priceless," said Monya Rutland, Macon Charter Academy Co-Founder.  She adds, "It is very rare you find a company that brings its mission to life with the passion and commitment of a non-profit.  The commitments made by Mr. Oddo and Birch will help us better prepare our children for today, but more importantly, the future they will soon inherit."    

About Macon Charter Academy

The mission of Macon Charter Academy, Inc. is to provide the resources and execute the programs necessary to create a child-centered educational environment that will encourage the highest development of the intellectual, personal, emotional and social skills that its scholars will need to live, learn, work and thrive in the rapidly changing world that they will encounter in the 21st century.  Our mission is guided by our vision to encourage each of our scholars to grow and develop as globally aware individuals who have a lifelong love for learning.  An integral component of our vision is to encourage continuous and significant collaboration between parents, educators and community partners in a diverse and flexible educational environment that creates Macon Charter Academy, Inc.

About Birch Communications

Birch Communications, Inc. is a leading communications, network, cloud and IT solutions provider. Recognized for exceptional customer experience, Birch delivers compelling solutions that assist small, mid-sized, enterprise and wholesale businesses to increase their productivity.  Its industry-leading product portfolio is available nationwide and includes Metro-Fiber, Metro-Ethernet, unified communications (UC), hosted phone systems, hosted data centers, and hosted file storage services.  For more information, visit birch.com.

SOURCE Birch Communications, Inc.

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