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For over seven years
Byte Back (501(c)(3)
non-profit organization) has been working with
local organizations to provide computer access
and career ladder computer training to
underemployed and unemployed adults, and
computer literacy to at-risk youth.
Over the past years, Byte Back has achieved the
following:
•Increased
the number of our professional volunteers: We
have developed a pool of over 600 computer
professionals who volunteer their time by
teaching courses and developing curricula. At
any given time 40-80 volunteers are active.
•Provided
information technology infrastructure to
technologically underserved community-based
organizations: We set up over 20 computer labs
for schools, churches, and other non-profits.
•Increased
the number of Community Tech classes: Twelve
hours of training to over 5000 adult students.
•Helped
at-risk youth by providing over 15 youth-serving
organizations with the expertise needed to
develop computer-based learning for their
programs.
•Graduated
38 students from the Intern Tech Academy:
Graduates have been hired for jobs with salaries
ranging from $32,000-$80,000, and have a full
time employment rate of 75%. Ten percent are IT
consultants.
Sacred Heart Academy,
a long-time Byte Back partner, has a thriving
computer lab, offering free lab time and
entry-level computer courses to a largely
immigrant student population based in Mount
Pleasant. The computer lab has been a major
asset, introducing computer skills to over 600
students with language barriers and no previous
computer access. Committed to helping immigrants
overcome the language barrier, Sacred Heart
Academy also offers Pre-GED and TOEFL classes,
in addition to computer-based tests of English
as a Second Language.
"There's a lot of people that
we're helping out,"
says Joseph
Sherman, Sacred Heart Academy Director.
"This is good for the students,
and good for society. Immigrants who never had
the opportunity to learn computer skills are
doing great."
For information
on Byte Back's classes at Sacred Heart Academy,
visit www.byteback.org. All non-profits
interested in receiving computer lab set-ups or
maintenance from Byte Back students should call
202-529-3395.
The Catholic Charities' Downtown Family Center
has offered DC area adults job training and GED
preparation courses for nearly twenty years.
Now, as the result of a partnership with Byte
Back, Catholic Charities is able to provide
their clientele with computer skills. Currently
in its
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third year, the
partnership between Byte Back and Catholic
Charities was initiated in 2001. Catholic
Charities' lab- complete with eight Byte Back
provided and maintained workstations, as well as
a teacher station- is utilized for courses in
Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and PowerPoint.
These courses, which have served approximately
150 students, are an important addition to
Catholic Charities' Job Training program.
"You need
computer skills to get a job,"
says
Program Coordinator Pilar Oberwetter.
"Byte Back allows us to have the
capacity to run computer courses. We would not
be able to do it otherwise."
Courses in
Windows, Word, Excel, and Power Point, taught by
Byte Back students, are currently in progress at
Catholic Charities Adult Education Downtown
Center. For more information,
Visit the website.
Friends of Fort Dupont Ice Arena:
Under the
supervision of Byte Back Graduate Kevin Jackson,
Interns Debra Wood and Rahel Yemane have
provided much-needed computer facilities to over
thirty children weekly at The Friends of Fort
Dupont Ice Arena. Triaging donated computer
equipment and networking an entire lab of eight
student stations, one teacher station, and a
server, in addition to installing the
appropriate software and setting up a firewall.
Friends of Fort Dupont offers after school and
weekend programs for area children, all of whom
reside in subsidized housing projects; the
computer lab will soon be equipped with high
speed internet and a dictionary program.
"We are going to have a gorgeous
lab,"
says Executive
Director Kathy Cox, adding that
"(the lab) would not exist if
Byte Back hadn't provided these services."
For more
information on the program, visit
www.fdia.org.
Byte Back Sets up Computer Lab at Brookland
Manor:
The
collaboration between Byte Back and the Teen
Center at Brookland Manor was initiated by Byte
Back Internship Technology student Souleymane
Diop, who chose Brookland Manor as his Senior
Site Project this October. Visiting the site on
a twice-weekly basis through December,
Souleymane set up thirteen Byte Back donated
computers, providing Brookland Manor with
Internet access and completing a teacher's
station that will be utilized by Byte
Back-trained teachers in the future. This newly
installed computer lab has quickly become
Brookland Manor's most popular addition, and
Souleymane has received raves for his hard work.
The Teen Center at Brookland Manor serves dozens
of 12-19 year olds residing in Northeast, D.C.
Organizations interested in technical
consultation or computer lab set up should call
Byte Back. Ask for Development Coordinator, Jami
Broom: 202-529-3395 or email
jbroom@byteback.org
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