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City of Seattle
Seattle City Council
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NEWS ADVISORY
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| SUBJECT: Seattle awards funds for community technology projects
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
6/9/2005 4:00:00 PM |
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Seattle awards funds for community technology projects
SEATTLE — The City of Seattle awarded $100,000 in funding for 14 community
technology projects. The Bill Wright Technology Matching Fund (TMF) projects
will increase residents’ access to the Internet and grow their technology
skills for employment, education and civic participation. This year’s
projects will increase access to technology particularly for homeless people,
youth, and immigrants.
“These organizations understand the importance of applying technology
to build economic opportunity and healthy, educated families,” says Mayor
Greg Nickels. “The Technology Matching Fund projects will reach some
of our neediest residents and will provide training and computer access to
engage them in our civic and economic life.”
The organizations awarded TMF funding will match the City’s dollars
with approximately $249,633 in community contributions, including volunteer
labor, professional services and donated equipment and software.
In looking at the needs of Seattle ’s immigrant communities, this year
the fund will support ESL training for East African and Lao immigrants, video
training for Ethiopian/Amharic youth with a focus on cultural heritage, and
a “New American Voters” webpage to facilitate new voter registration
and community leadership.
“I am pleased to see the range of projects, technology and communities
served,” says Jim Compton, Chair of the City Council Utilities and Technology
Committee. “Providing better access to local government is a great use
of technology and an important complement to the City’s use of the Seattle
Channel and web as a democracy portal to increase meaningful participation
in government and the affairs of the city.”
Recommendations for funding projects are made by the Citizens Telecommunications
and Technology Advisory Board (CTTAB). CTTAB is a fifteen member volunteer
board appointed by the Mayor and City Council. CTTAB’s purpose is to
advise the City of Seattle on issues of community-wide interest relating to
telecommunications and technology.
The Technology Matching Fund was established in 1997 to support the community’s
efforts to close the digital divide and encourage a technology-healthy city.
Funds for the Technology Matching Fund come from city collected cable television
franchise fees. The City named the matching fund in memory of Bill Wright,
a Central District community leader who embodied the program’s goal of
creating digital opportunity for all and using technology tools to build strong
neighborhoods. Since the program began, the City has contributed over $1,161,000
to 91 projects with community contributions totaling more than $2,635,000.
For more information on the Bill Wright Technology Matching Fund, visit seattle.gov/tech.
MEDIA NOTE: PLEASE CONTACT US IF YOU WOULD LIKE OUR HELP IN GETTING
IN TOUCH WITH ONE OR MORE OF THE GRANT RECIPIENTS.
2005 Bill Wright Technology Matching Fund Awards
911 Media Arts Center
Young Producers Project Scholarship Program
Open up summer classes
on media literacy to economically challenged youth and offer up-to-date computers
for the young producers program.
Awarded:
$5,000
Match: $24,104
Boys & Girls Clubs of King County – North
Seattle Club
Technology Learning Center
Expand the North
Seattle Technology Learning Center to accommodate 20 computers, projector and
screen. Offer training to volunteers and staff to teach computer basics using
the Club Tech curriculum.
Awarded: $10,000
Match: $17,406
Compass Center
Teach the Teachers Project
Develop a curriculum to teach basic life
and computer skills to formerly homeless men and women. Recruit and train volunteers
to become teachers. Assess student skills and track outcomes to measure curriculum
effectiveness.
Awarded:
$4,625
Match: $5,000
Digital Promise
STAR Rising: Increasing Self Sufficiency
Improve access to technology
for disabled populations by upgrading hardware and software and developing
trainings and a Training Guide primarily devoted to disabled users. The program
will be delivered at the Special Technology Access Resource (STAR) center in
collaboration with Seattle Housing Authority, and will increase levels of self
sufficiency for Center House residents and the surrounding community.
Awarded: $9990
Match: $12,591
Ethiopian Community Mutual Association
Ethio-Techno Mobile Multimedia
Project
Provide two three-month sessions of multi-media project training
to Ethiopian/ Amharic youth with a cultural heritage content focus. Sessions
will be held at three locations in north, central and south Seattle and efforts
will be made to recruit low-income, disadvantaged Ethiopian youth.
Awarded: $10,000
Match: $10,000
Hate Free Zone Washington
Log On For Your Community
Develop a “New American Voters” webpage
to facilitate registration of 2,000 new voters; develop a webpage for their
Community Leadership Council to provide a forum for member participation; and
provide up to 240 community members the opportunity to participate in a series
of live online discussions with local elected officials.
Awarded: $9,400
Match: $9,675
Horn of Africa Services
Intermediate Computer Training
Develop and test a curriculum for intermediate
level computer training class to better serve East African refugees and immigrants
in the greater Seattle area.
Awarded: $5,000
Match: $11,725
Interconnection
Computers for Community
Donate one hundred Internet ready, refurbished
computer sets to low-income clients of Fremont Public Association and FamilyWorks.
Conduct a marketing campaign to gain computers and market computer hardware
training and recycling opportunities.
Awarded: $7,400
Match: $16,877.6
Lao Community Services Office
Technology Improvement Program
Help Lao youth improve their computer
skills, academic achievement, and knowledge about their cultural heritage through
Internet research and computer training. Help Lao adults increase their computer
skills so they are more self-sufficient.
Awarded:
$3,600
Match: $11,600
Low Income Housing Institute
LIHI Technology Initiative
Develop a mobile laptop lab and three mini
labs which will increase computer access and training opportunities for low-income
and formerly homeless residents at three housing sites. Teach job search skills,
resume writing, computers and financial literacy.
Awarded: $9,000
Match: $25,538
Neighborhood House
Rainier Vista Technology Center
Provide
six computers, serving residents of all ages. Offer training modules specifically
designed to meet the needs of the low-income residents in Rainier Vista, including
children, adults, limited English proficient adults, seniors and people with
disabilities.
Awarded: $6,180
Match: $71,985.32
Rainier Beach Community Technology Center
Family
Tech Training & Computer Give-Away Program
Provide low-income,
minority families training in computer hardware management, software installation
and utilization and accessing online government and school district resources.
Participants take home refurbished computers they build.
Awarded:
$6,000
Match: $10,540
Salvation Army White
Center Community Center
Seattle White Center Computer
Lab
Hire two UW work study students to staff the lab for 20 hours per
week. Students will teach basic computer and Internet classes to adults,
seniors and youth and web page development to teens. They will also assist
during open lab hours.
Awarded:
$4,900
Match: $14,150
Yesler Community Center
Basic Computer Training Project
Teach poor working refugees and immigrants
coming out of welfare and illiteracy basic computer skills in conjunction with
English as a second language. Classes will use simple English words to fit
the levels of the participants.
Awarded:
$8,905
Match: $8,441.95
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Department of Information Technology
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