[Advisors] Fwd: [CommunityInformaticsCanada] FW: [DIN] Digital inclusion Success Stories

Mon Jul 7 15:54:56 PDT 2014

Good stories from an organization in Kansas City doing exactly what CAP, 
CAP-YI and Computers for Schools were and are doing in communities 
across Canada.

Marita

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	[CommunityInformaticsCanada] FW: [DIN] Digital inclusion 
Success Stories
Date: 	Mon, 7 Jul 2014 09:38:02 +0200
From: 	michael gurstein <gurstein at gmail.com>
To: 	<ciresearchers at vancouvercommunity.net>, 
<cracin-canada at vancouvercommunity.net>
CC: 	'Michael Liimatta' <michael at connectingforgood.org>

Some nice stories...

M

-----Original Message-----
From: inclusion at forums.e-democracy.org [mailto:inclusion at forums.e-democracy.org] On Behalf Of Michael Liimatta
Sent: Sunday, July 06, 2014 3:20 PM
To: inclusion at forums.e-democracy.org
Subject: [DIN] Digital inclusion Success Stories

<http://www.connectingforgood.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/mommy.jpg>

A single mom from the housing project stops by our community technology center in Kansas City KS regularly to check her e-mail.

Through the first five months of 2014, a total of 459 separate individuals have been students in our free classes, with many attending multiple sessions. This is remarkable since many training sessions were cancelled due to harsh winter weather in in the early part of the new year.
Attendance in at least one three-hour class session is required to purchase a $50 refurbished computer.

So, who are we reaching through our basic Internet and computer skills program?

25% have never used a computer
75% are over 50 years old
80% are minorities, predominantly African American 75% have incomes of under $20,000 a year 90% purchased a computer from us after their taking the class
2/3 of the participants in the free classes are women
1/2 of women 60+ have a child under 18 years old living with them

Here are a few of the stories of lives that have been touched in significant ways through these efforts.

One 68 year old senior living in low income housing felt very alone.  All of her family members had moved to Texas and California. Because of her limited budget, after completing the classes it took her 3 months to pay for a computer on our “lay away” plan . In the meantime, we taught her how to use Facebook and it’s chat feature.  Before, she had very limited contact with her children and grandchildren and just a few pictures at holidays.

Using Facebook she now sets times to chat with her daughter and grandchildren. She is also able to see their photos in sports, school functions and family activities. She also does chat sessions with her son every week. This is so important for her because all she can afford is a cell phone with limited minutes.

Because she is now “digital,” she no longer feels unwanted, abandoned or old and unnecessary. Instead, by staying in touch with her family, she now feels loved, wanted, needed and has more fun. Getting a computer, learning how to use it and being a part of the world and connected changed her life dramatically.

<http://www.connectingforgood.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ladies.jpg>

Terry, one of our trainers, leads one of the twice weekly classes at our community technology center on 3rd Street in Kansas City KS

An even more dramatic change happened in the life of a 23 year old single mother who was living on public assistance with two children when we first met her. Knowing she wasn’t providing for her children, she, too, experienced struggles with self-esteem and hopelessness. With minimal education, no marketable job skills or computer knowledge she was going nowhere fast. Over a period spanning several months, this young lady attended our basic classes and learned how to use a computer for the first time.

Because of her limited income, it took her four months to pay for her $50 refurbished computer. She did it by taking on odd jobs to earn the money.
  During this time, we provided her with one-on-one assistance to learn how to apply for jobs and to develop a top notch resume. She also asked for our help with interviewing skills and choosing appropriate attire.

The good news is that she did get an office job and then a promotion within six months of being hired. Besides moving from public assistance to a career, she also completed her GED and is taking college courses on line.
All of this happened within the span of just nine months!

In another instance, we worked with an unemployed 38 year old woman who could neither read nor write. She learned how to use a computer and the Internet for the first time in our free classes.  Outside of the sessions, we introduced her to educational word games. Using them, she taught herself how to read, write and spell. Because we made it fun for her, she came in every day for several months.

Once she started learning, her thirst for education was fueled, she couldn’t get enough. She had to have a computer she could use at home. Like the other two women, because of her limited income, the only way she could purchase a refurbished PC was to take on odd jobs, like scrubbing floors.
Before long, she was able to get a part time job and her self-esteem and confidence have blossomed.

These are just three of the many lives that are being changed as our organization works to provide affordable access to technology and practical skills to people in Kansas City’s under served inner city neighborhoods.
  We can do this thanks to the volunteer efforts and financial contributions of partners who share our vision of not allowing anyone to be left behind in our digital society.

Michael Liimatta, President
Connecting for Good
3101 Troost Avenue
Kansas City MO 64109
(816) 217-9637 @connectingkc
http://www.connectingforgood.org

Michael Liimatta
East of Troost and in NE Wyandotte County Kansas, Kansas City About/contact Michael  Liimatta: http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/4pKTZbLN3v7ayD1ek40oMd

View full topic:
   http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/glAoJxC2UMgKyTsxJ3ZgM

* Trying to reply privately to Yahoo or AOL users? You can't easily. These companies broke the way email lists work globally. So messages from those users have a broken email inserted rather than ban their use on our system. If you use AOL or Yahoo for email and want to be reached privately from your E-Democracy posts, consider switching email providers.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
   Post: inclusion at forums.e-democracy.org or "Reply-to-All" to comment.
   Get digest or leave: Put "digest on" or "unsubscribe" in Subject (no quotes)
   Forum Home:  http://forums.e-democracy.org/groups/inclusion
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Need help? http://e-democracy.org/support  Hosting: http://OnlineGroups.Net

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://victoria.tc.ca/pipermail/advisors/attachments/20140707/be201fdf/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed...
Name: message-footer.txt
URL: <http://victoria.tc.ca/pipermail/advisors/attachments/20140707/be201fdf/attachment.txt>