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L-R: Trevor Oostmeyer and Troy Brocker from IT Kitsap Consolidated Housing Authority, Golden Tides I community member Jackie Wilson, Connecting Kitsap project team member Kevin Buyer, Carol Vosburg from Golden Tides I, Laura Schaeffer from the Kitsap Consolidated Housing Authority, and Kitsap Computing Seniors representatives Edie McKelvy and Bob Higgins at the kick-off ceremony. |
Brennan Dobbins recalls the excitement of her family when she took one of her outdated computers and “recycled it” by sending it to her parents, complete with instructions. “I thought, it’s such a wonderful thing for elders to get into,” she said.
So when her Leadership Kitsap Class of 2007 group looked for a community project, she pitched the idea of reconditioning old computers and donating them to senior facilities.
“We decided it would be a nice benefit to the community,” she said. The fact that computers will be saved from going to the landfill was an additional incentive, and since other group members wanted to have a youth aspect to the project, they decided to enroll the help of high school students in installing computers and teaching seniors how to use them.
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Laura Schaeffer from the Kitsap Consolidated Housing Authority cuts the ribbon during the Connecting Kitsap kick-off ceremony while Carol Vosburg, community member from Golden Tides I looks on.
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Earlier this year, the group completed its first installation at Golden Tides I, a senior facility owned by the Kitsap County Consolidated Housing Authority (KCCHA).“I am so grateful for these computers and I know our residents will be thrilled,” Laura Schaeffer of KCCHA said. “So many of them are isolated in their homes with family far away. Learning how to use the computer and write email letters changes some of their lives.”
According to organizers of the project, dubbed Connecting Kitsap, “This project wishes to link wisdom of the past to the technology of the future through community involvement.“ They plan additional installations soon at three other senior communities, and hope to enroll the help of the business community to keep the project going.
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Your help is needed to “Connect Kitsap”
Connecting Kitsap is seeking donations of select reusable computers from area businesses. Local high school students will recondition the computers, and volunteers will install them in local retirement facilities, provide education and ongoing support as needed. In kind donations of software, hardware (including computers currently running Windows XP or better, hard drives, modems) ISP’s, monetary support, volunteer hours, storage, transportation and potential placement suggestions are needed. Email scharles@connectingkitsap.com if you would like to participate and be a part of the success of this community service project. |
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“As long as we have computers donated, we have people who want them,” Dobbins said, adding that while the class graduates in June, they may look into how the program can continue beyond their graduation.Leadership Kitsap is a nonprofit, volunteer organization that offers a 10-month-long educational program for existing and emerging community leaders. The program includes seminars, community projects and other leadership and educational opportunities.
This year’s class includes 32 leaders with diverse backgrounds representing industries that range from health care, law enforcement and banking, to education and technology. The class has a total of five groups; the other four groups’ community projects are focused on literacy, disaster preparedness, volunteerism and hunger awareness.
For more information, visit www.leadershipkitsap.org. |
