Help Change Lives - Sponsor a Chicago Community College Student for Hacker Summer Camp 2025!

City Colleges of Chicago's Cybersecurity Career Accelerator (CCA) is raising funds to send passionate, non-traditional students to Hacker Summer Camp in 2025. This unique opportunity helps students take their first real step into cybersecurity through hands-on experience, real-world exposure, and face-to-face connections with industry professionals.

Students accepted into CCA have completed intensive cybersecurity training and are ready to launch their careers. Many come from underrepresented and underserved communities, and this experience can be life-changing—not just for them, but for generations to come. We've seen firsthand how a cybersecurity career can lift an entire family out of the cycle of generational poverty.

A $1,000 sponsorship covers airfare and hotel for DEF CON. We've reduced the cost significantly thanks to our partnership with the Black Hat Conference Associate program. The program covers all other major expenses, including Black Hat conference access, meals, lodging, and DEF CON entry.

The CCA is open to all regardless of ethnicity, gender, age, or background—but because it’s based at a Chicago community college, it naturally draws in a wide range of students with diverse perspectives, lived experiences, and brilliant ideas.

Your support empowers students to:

Connect with industry professionals
Learn from leading experts
Showcase their skills to potential employers
Break into an industry that has the power to transform their future

Our goal is to sponsor 10 students for 2025. Every contribution helps us get there.

Together, we’re not just changing careers, we’re changing lives.

✨ Thank you for making a difference! ✨

DONATE ONLINE

Click the DONATE NOW button above to contribute by card or PayPal.

DONATE BY CHECK

Please make checks payable to the CITY COLLEGES OF CHICAGO FOUNDATION and add to the memo: CCC Cybersecurity Career Accelerator

Prior to sending a check contribution or donation please notify, Anthony Scaccia, Manager of Operations at the CCC Foundation, HERE if you have not done so already in order to ensure proper processing.

Please enclose a letter delineating the purpose of your donation or contribution as required by our auditors. This may also be sent via email ahead of a mailed check.

Mail checks and documentation to:

City Colleges of Chicago Foundation
c/o Anthony Scaccia, Manager of Operations
180 N Wabash, Suite 200
Chicago, IL 60601

CCC CYBERSECURITY CAREER ACCELERATOR (CCA)