| West TN children receive computers |
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Posted: Thursday, August 6, 2009 4:46 pm
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Weakley County Mayor Houston Patrick displays technology 55 years ago.
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Dresden’s Southside Church of Christ was the host site for children and their guardians on Friday as state organization Connected Tennessee presented 59 foster children throughout West Tennessee with brand new Dell laptop computers through the Computers 4 Kids program.
Connected Tennessee’s Computers 4 Kids (C4K) initiative places computers into the hands of underprivileged children and their families across Tennessee. C4K is an innovative project designed to positively impact the future of disadvantaged children in Tennessee by distributing computers to children and families facing economic challenges, in the foster care system or that struggle with behavioral disorders and other issues.
The recipients hail from 21 counties, including Weakley County, throughout West Tennessee and were targeted for inclusion in the program by the Department of Children’s Services (DCS) based on specified behavioral and academic expectations.
County mayor Houston Patrick shared that in 1954, he used a shovel to dig ditches in people’s yards during an election year.
Today, a backhoe equipped with a computer to monitor the depth of hole dug is used for large jobs as opposed to using a shovel and 20 men for a contract job.
“Technology 55 years ago does not get the job done. If you don’t keep up with technology, forget it – you don’t get the contract,” Patrick added.
Almost half of low-income families in Tennessee cite a lack of a computer at home as the reason they are not accessing the Internet.
Since computer skills and Internet access have become essential components necessary to participate in the global economy, the need to help Tennessee’s disadvantaged residents join the Information Age is apparent.
“In Weakley County and throughout West Tennessee, technology is the key to the future,” Patrick shared.
“This contribution will help our community give these kids access to the Internet and its many educational resources. It is an honor to partner with the Computers 4 Kids program to provide these very deserving young people with the tools they will need to be successful in the future.”
Friday’s event was held at the Southside Church of Christ in Dresden. Along with the computers, recipients also received educational DVDs from valued Connected Tennessee partner, the Internet Keep Safe Coalition (iKeepSafe).
The DVDs are designed to teach children of all ages in a fun, age-appropriate way the basic rules of Internet safety, ethics and the healthy use of connected technologies.
iKeepSafe is a broad partnership of governors and/or first spouses, attorneys general, public health and educational professionals, law enforcement and industry leaders working together for the health and safety of youth online.
C4K joined forces with iKeepSafe to ensure that children and families are well-informed about responsible ways of using technology.
Connected Tennessee is a non-profit organization that develops and implements effective strategies for technology deployment, use and literacy in Tennessee.
The work of Connected Tennessee and Computers 4 Kids is made possible through a grant from the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development’s mission is to create higher skilled, better paying jobs for all Tennesseans.
Connected Tennessee is coordinating the Computers 4 Kids project with the State of Tennessee, the Department of Children’s Services and the Department of Human Services.
Through the Computers 4 Kids program, Connected Tennessee has already awarded more than 1,600 computers to children in need across Tennessee.
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