Thursday, October 21, 2010
Almost 21% of Computer Training Taught in Spanish!
NVPCC's taught 20.7% of our training hours in Spanish in the 3rd Quarter! Stop by East Las Vegas Community Senior Center or Stupak Community Center for FREE computer training in Spanish!
Friday, October 15, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
A New Day
Bubbly and outgoing, Julia Mann first visited the Public Computer Center at the Stupak Community Center in August of this year. “I am grateful to have a place like this so that I can learn how to use the computer,” says Julia.
A Las Vegan since 1982, Julia worked in the casino industry for over 15 years. Now Julia is looking to begin a career in medical record-keeping and diligently searches for employment at the Public Computer Center (PCC). “I’m a real novice when it comes to anything with computers. But, with the help of Ms. Clark, I am starting to get it. I am now able to fill out job applications online – something I could not do before.”
Julia is mother to a five-year old boy. “He has filled my life with love and tenderness. I can barely keep up with him,” says Julia. “I want to do well in life for him, and because of an online application I completed, I have found a part-time job and have scheduled interviews with potential full-time employers.”
Julia is among the many visitors who benefit everyday from the use of PCCs throughout Southern Nevada. Click here to find a PCC nearest you or email us at info@nvpcc.org.
author, Ms. Christina Clark
author, Ms. Christina Clark
Grand Opening Event a Success!
Las Vegas Urban League and City of Las Vegas Celebrate Grand Opening of Nevada Public Computer Centers
Operated in Partnership with the City of Las Vegas, the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority and other Local Partners
(EMAILWIRE.COM, October 08, 2010 ) Las Vegas, NV - The Las Vegas Urban League and the City of Las Vegas today culminated a process that began more than a year ago with the celebration of the grand opening of the Nevada Public Computer Centers.
On March 4, 2010, the Las Vegas Urban League (LVUL) was awarded a $4.7 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grant to create 29 Public Computer Centers (PCC). The PCC’s are operated in partnership with the City of Las Vegas, the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority, Area Health Centers, Clark County Health District, Cox Communications, Desert Rose Adult School, the Las Vegas Urban League Young Professionals, the Las Vegas Urban League’s Guild, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Lutheran Social Services and Skills 4 Kids.
At a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the City’s Doolittle Community Center, LVUL CEO Morse Arberry Jr., Ward 5 Councilman Ricki Y. Barlow and LVUL Chairman of the Board of Directors Steven Brooks praised the program. Doolittle is one of 29 PCC sites located to serve vulnerable populations in public housing developments, low-income and high unemployment communities and senior citizens.
Each site will offer computer classes, job training and certification programs, and community health programs through local partner organizations.
“This is a great day for the Las Vegas Urban League and the culmination of a collaborative effort led by the City of Las Vegas, Housing Authority and our local partners,” said Arberry. “The Public Computer Center program represents our collective vision of ensuring online technology is available to everyone in our community.”
The PCC’s are free and open to the public. So far, 15 of the 29 sites have been opened as of October 2010, with the remainder set to open before the end of the year. Information about the computer centers is available at www.nvpcc.org or (702) 608-5245.
“These centers offer residents the opportunity to learn how to use computers to take part in a number of activities including job training,” Councilman Barlow said. “I’m proud that the city could team with the Urban League to bring these centers to those who might otherwise not have the opportunities these computers will provide.”
Overall, the project expects to replace about 100 workstations and add more than 90 new ones, enabling the centers to increase the number of users served from approximately 1,600 to 4,600 per week.
The ceremony was followed by a reception where Councilman Barlow led a tour of the PCC at Doolittle and applauded the LVUL’s effort along with each of the local partners to further the use of online technology in underserved areas of the Southern Nevada community.
About the Las Vegas Urban League
The Las Vegas Urban League (LVUL) is an affiliate of the National Urban League, which was founded in 1910. The LVUL was established in 2004 and is the largest Community Action Agency in Nevada. Its mission is to empower communities and ensure equal opportunity for low-income citizens. This mission is achieved through the delivery of social services and economic assistance to individuals and families seeking to attain self-sufficiency. The agency is funded, in part, by the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services. For more information, please visit www.lvccul.org.
On March 4, 2010, the Las Vegas Urban League (LVUL) was awarded a $4.7 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grant to create 29 Public Computer Centers (PCC). The PCC’s are operated in partnership with the City of Las Vegas, the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority, Area Health Centers, Clark County Health District, Cox Communications, Desert Rose Adult School, the Las Vegas Urban League Young Professionals, the Las Vegas Urban League’s Guild, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Lutheran Social Services and Skills 4 Kids.
At a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the City’s Doolittle Community Center, LVUL CEO Morse Arberry Jr., Ward 5 Councilman Ricki Y. Barlow and LVUL Chairman of the Board of Directors Steven Brooks praised the program. Doolittle is one of 29 PCC sites located to serve vulnerable populations in public housing developments, low-income and high unemployment communities and senior citizens.
Each site will offer computer classes, job training and certification programs, and community health programs through local partner organizations.
“This is a great day for the Las Vegas Urban League and the culmination of a collaborative effort led by the City of Las Vegas, Housing Authority and our local partners,” said Arberry. “The Public Computer Center program represents our collective vision of ensuring online technology is available to everyone in our community.”
The PCC’s are free and open to the public. So far, 15 of the 29 sites have been opened as of October 2010, with the remainder set to open before the end of the year. Information about the computer centers is available at www.nvpcc.org or (702) 608-5245.
“These centers offer residents the opportunity to learn how to use computers to take part in a number of activities including job training,” Councilman Barlow said. “I’m proud that the city could team with the Urban League to bring these centers to those who might otherwise not have the opportunities these computers will provide.”
Overall, the project expects to replace about 100 workstations and add more than 90 new ones, enabling the centers to increase the number of users served from approximately 1,600 to 4,600 per week.
The ceremony was followed by a reception where Councilman Barlow led a tour of the PCC at Doolittle and applauded the LVUL’s effort along with each of the local partners to further the use of online technology in underserved areas of the Southern Nevada community.
About the Las Vegas Urban League
The Las Vegas Urban League (LVUL) is an affiliate of the National Urban League, which was founded in 1910. The LVUL was established in 2004 and is the largest Community Action Agency in Nevada. Its mission is to empower communities and ensure equal opportunity for low-income citizens. This mission is achieved through the delivery of social services and economic assistance to individuals and families seeking to attain self-sufficiency. The agency is funded, in part, by the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services. For more information, please visit www.lvccul.org.
Contact Information:
Reggie Burton Communications
Reggie Burton
Tel: 702-558-9202
Reggie Burton Communications
Reggie Burton
Tel: 702-558-9202
Reproduced from emailwire.com
* Community computer centers helping change lives *
Friday, Oct. 8, 2010 | 7:12 p.m.
Map of Doolittle Community Center
Four months ago, Julia Mann was living in a domestic violence shelter.
The 51-year-old was unemployed. Her previous jobs as a cocktail waitress, food server and discount store cashier had not panned out, and she was struggling to take care of her 5-year-old son, who has Down syndrome.
Mann wanted to better her situation, so she turned to one of 29 new Nevada Public Computer Centers for help.
“I was completely computer illiterate,” she said. “I didn’t even know how to turn on a computer.”
But with the assistance of the staff at the Stupak Community Center, Mann learned how to operate a computer, e-mail family in Mexico and write a resume. Eventually, she was able to land a job with a pizza chain.
“There is a great deal of need for these centers,” Mann said. “My life is completely different now.”
Community leaders gathered Friday to celebrate the grand opening of the latest public computer center at Doolittle Community Center, 1950 North J St.
As children played games and surfed the Web in the new computer lab, Jeff Drothler posed a question to the dozens of supporters gathered for the opening.
“Can you just imagine what your life would be like without technology?” the NPCC program manager asked. “If you didn’t have a job, how will you find one without a computer?”
The new computer center at Doolittle was made possible by a three-year, $4.68 million Broadband Technology Opportunities Program grant through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The Las Vegas Urban League, in partnership with the city of Las Vegas, Cox Communications and other organizations, spearheaded an effort that began in March 2009 to help bridge the technology gap in low-income communities.
“I didn’t grow up with a computer. I had to learn how to operate one in my junior year of college,” said Las Vegas City Councilman Ricki Barlow, who represents Ward 5, where the new center is located. “I don’t get Twitter, Facebook and Myspace, but I do understand the importance of technology.”
“This is not a black issue, a Hispanic issue or a white issue,” Barlow said. “This is about the development of our young people and making sure they have all the tools to succeed.”
Clark County received the grant in March, which paved the way for 15 new computer centers and upgrading 14 existing centers. When completed by the end of the year, each center will have between 13 and 15 computers. The county’s grant was the fourth largest of 20 grants awarded nationally.
The new computer center at Doolittle houses nine Dell desktop computers connected to Cox’s broadband Internet network. It is a free, no-reservation or time-limit resource that also offers job, software and homework help from 23 trained support staffers.
It means the world to people like Deandre Mathews, one of 1,800 residents who used the centers last week. The 16-year-old junior at Canyon Springs High School doesn’t have a computer at home and comes to the center every day to do homework and to talk with his friends on Myspace.
“It’s very helpful,” Mathews said. “I like coming here, being surrounded by people I can depend on.”
Juergen Barbusca, a Cox representative, said, “This is helping to change lives. We are making the digital age available to those who don’t have access."
Reproduced from the Las Vegas Sun
Backgrounder - Nevada Public Computer Centers
Las Vegas Urban League and its partners are implementing FREE Public Computer Centers
What: The Las Vegas Urban League was selected to administer the federal government’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), which is expanding the capacity of 14 Public Computer Centers (PCC’s) and creating 15 new computer centers in public housing developments and community and senior centers throughout the most economically disadvantaged communities in Clark County, Nevada. This BTOP PCC grant is the 4th largest of 20 grants awarded nationally.
The 29 Public Computer Centers offer computer classes, job training and certification programs, and community health programs through local partner organizations. Overall, the project expects to replace about 100 workstations and add more than 90 new ones, enabling the centers to increase the number of users served from approximately 1,600 to 4,600 per week. The computer centers will be located to serve vulnerable populations in public housing developments, low-income and high unemployment communities, and senior citizens.
15 of the 29 FREE Public Computer Centers are open as of October 2010
Situation: With today’s record unemployment and a turbulent economy, more people are looking for resources to help cope with the realities of our times. Many are being forced out of their homes and are finding themselves out of work.
It’s critical to get people working again so they don’t fall into the limbo of long-term unemployment, where they lose motivation and may never recover their previous standard of living. Even people with jobs and housing are cutting back on their expenses; for example, many can no longer afford internet access. As a result, public libraries have reported large increases in demand for computers to search for jobs – but waiting lines can sometimes be long.
The Nevada Public Computer Centers are making a critical difference. They are being established by the Las Vegas Urban League, whose mission is to empower communities and ensure equal opportunities for low-income citizens. As one of the two Community Action Agencies within the state of Nevada, the Las Vegas Urban League is working in partnership with the City of Las Vegas, the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority and other partners to implement 29 Public Computer Centers in Clark County.
Project Impact:
· Helping kids get better grades
· Saving families money with coupons
· Accessing public records and documents
· Showing participants how to pay bills online
· Teaching valuable work tools such as Microsoft Office
· Helping participants find a job in today’s tough economy
· Enhancing and deepening internet and communication skills
· Connecting grandparents and grandchildren through Skype
· And much more!
Project Partners:
· Area Health Centers
· City of Las Vegas
· Clark County Health District / Southern Nevada
· Cox Communications
· Desert Rose Adult High School
· Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
· Las Vegas Urban League Young Professionals
· Las Vegas Urban League’s Guild
· Lutheran Social Services
· Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority
· Skills 4 Kids
· And more!
Federal Award:
- $4,680,963 over three years, beginning March 4, 2010
Further Information:
- Website - www.nvpcc.org
- Email - info@nvpcc.org
- Message line - (702) 608-5245
Welcome!
Twenty-nine computer centers are being developed all over southern Nevada, thanks in part to a Broadband USA grant, the Urban League of Las Vegas, and several partners. Nevada Public Computer Centers (NVPCC's) will be opening across the valley in various stages. Each Public Computer Center is free to the public and offers a wide range of classes. Several communities are already experiencing the benefits of our efforts.
All classes and open computer sessions are free to the public. We teach a broad range of classes tailored to people who have never even turned on a computer ("Introduction to Computers") and to job seekers ("How to Perform a Job Search Online"). We teach computer classes in Spanish at Stupak Community Center and East Las Vegas Community Senior Center. You do not need to sign up or register - just walk in!
It is the intent of the Public Computer Centers to be accessible to everyone. Please let us know if you have special visual, auditory or physical needs and we will do our best to accommodate those requests. In Phase III of our deployment plan, we also hope to open workstations for children.
We will continually add classes as we launch new phases of the Public Computer Centers, contingent upon visitor requests. If you have ideas for computer classes, please contact us at info@nvpcc.org.
All classes and open computer sessions are free to the public. We teach a broad range of classes tailored to people who have never even turned on a computer ("Introduction to Computers") and to job seekers ("How to Perform a Job Search Online"). We teach computer classes in Spanish at Stupak Community Center and East Las Vegas Community Senior Center. You do not need to sign up or register - just walk in!
It is the intent of the Public Computer Centers to be accessible to everyone. Please let us know if you have special visual, auditory or physical needs and we will do our best to accommodate those requests. In Phase III of our deployment plan, we also hope to open workstations for children.
We will continually add classes as we launch new phases of the Public Computer Centers, contingent upon visitor requests. If you have ideas for computer classes, please contact us at info@nvpcc.org.
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