Computer labs established at YMCA, Girls and Boys Club

  • October 07, 2008

The Murfreesboro Post

Connected Tennessee’s Computers 4 Kids program recently announced the establishment of computer labs in Rutherford County’s Boys & Girls Club and YMCA.

Computers 4 Kids (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, are in the foster care system or that struggle with behavioral disorders and other issues.
C4K will be enriching the educational landscape of Tennessee’s communities by placing computer labs in non-profit organizations that work to enhance the lives of students and families in their area. With the computer labs, these non-profit groups will be able to offer programs that teach, serve and impact youth in Tennessee.

The back-to-back events were held at the Boys & Girls Club of Rutherford County and the Rutherford County Family YMCA. Fifteen brand new Dell computers were donated to the Boys & Girls Club, while the YMCA received 10. State Senators Jim Tracy and Bill Ketron were on hand to help unveil the computer labs at both locations.

“We are proud to welcome the Computers 4 Kids program to Rutherford County,” said Senator Tracy. “This contribution will serve to help our community bridge the digital divide and give children and families access to the Internet and its many educational resources.”

“Since many of the citizens served by the YMCA and the Boys and Girls Club do not have access to computers in their home, these labs will become an integral part in providing Rutherford County’s youth and their families the ability to further develop their technology skills,” said Senator Ketron. “Computers today are the highways to the future for our children! Thanks to AT&T and Connected Tennessee’s Computers 4 Kids program, dozens of lives in Rutherford County will be positively impacted.”

Computers 4 Kids also announced today the intent to establish a computer lab in the new Boys & Girls Club site of Maury County, slated for completion in January 2009. The donations to both the Maury County and Rutherford County Boys & Girls Club and the YMCA are part of a grant from the AT&T Foundation. The AT&T Foundation - the corporate philanthropy organization of AT&T Inc. - supports initiatives that help students throughout the higher education continuum: the successful completion of high school, preparation for and entrance to college and degree completion and graduation.

Connected Tennessee is a non-profit organization that develops and implements effective strategies for technology deployment, use and literacy in Tennessee. 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 C4K, Connected Tennessee will award at least 1,000 computers per year over a three year period to children in need across Tennessee.