More than 80 elementary school students and their families came away with free computers Thursday evening after the Partners in Education’s Computers for Families event rolled through Carpinteria Middle School.
The organization, which brings individuals, businesses, foundations and government together to help students prepare for their futures, distributed refurbished computers and offered equipment and internet instruction to students and families from Summerland Elementary School and Carpinteria’s Canalino and Aliso elementary schools.
“The overall goal of the program is to close the digital divide and remove barriers that prevent student success,” said Chelsea Duffy, Partners in Education’s executive director.
“More and more, students are needing this technology in the home to succeed in school and just be on the same playing field as their peers.”
A wide array of individuals and businesses donated their old computers, which not only allows the students to catch up to their peers technologically, Duffy said, but keeps the e-waste out of a landfill.
Members of the Los Prietos Boys Camp, a high school and detention center in the Los Padres National Forest, did the bulk of the refurbishment and helped hand out the desktop computers.
“The boys at the camp have the opportunity to work with a teacher and learn how to refurbish the computers,” Duffy said. “They’re getting viable job skills, things they can put on their resumes.”
Schools identify which of their pupils would benefit from the Computers for Families event, and families receive basic training for the computers’ software, followed by a quick crash course on online safety.
Cox Communications had a booth set up in Carpinteria Middle School’s gym for families to sign up for discounted internet services through its Connect2Compete program.
The two-decade-old Computers for Families program holds up to 20 distribution events each year from Goleta to Carpinteria, and Thursday’s was one of the biggest yet.
Each year, Duffy said, 500 to 600 computers are given away.
One of Partners in Education’s goals is to expand the number and scope of post-distribution parent trainings that offer more extensive one-on-one guidance.
“For some families, it’s their first experience with a computer,” she said.
The organization is always looking for new volunteers and computer donations, she added, to meet the demands of the program and the needs of those who utilize it.
— Noozhawk staff writer Sam Goldman can be reached at sgoldman@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
