Connected Tennessee, LLC

Computers 4 Kids: Preparing Tennessee’s Next Generation for Success

According to Connected Tennessee, there are thousands of disadvantaged Tennesseans who are unable to participate in the educational, economic, and civic opportunities available online simply because there are no computers in their households. Connected Tennessee’s Computers 4 Kids project intends to focus on economically vulnerable youth in the Volunteer State by deploying laptops, academic support programs, and workforce training to two disparate, but especially at-risk, populations: those in the state’s foster care system that are “aging out” as they turn 18, and youth that are active in the state’s 76 Boys & Girls Clubs. The project plans to provide younger children in the Boys & Girls Clubs with broadband access in a safe environment via its Club Tech program.

Total Award: 
$2287387
BTOP In Action
A Boys & Girls Club Youth member hard at work on a computer

By late December 2011, Connected Tennessee’s Computers 4 Kids: Preparing Tennessee’s Next Generation for Success program distributed approximately 1,400 computers to 76 Boys & Girls Clubs (BGCs) in Tennessee and nine regional sectors of the Department of Children’s Services (DCS), the state’s child welfare agency. These computers are part of the project’s effort to provide computers and training to more than 60,000 disadvantaged youth across the state.

Connected Tennessee’s ultimate goal is to help children with limited access to broadband develop the skills needed for today’s economy. In addition to new workstations, Computers 4 Kids also provides digital literacy classes on a wide variety of subjects, including computer basics, web design, digital photography, digital moviemaking, animation, game design, and web safety. Through this potent combination of computer resources, academic support programs, and broadband awareness, Computer 4 Kids is seeing a drastic increase in home broadband adoption among low-income and minority families.

Last updated: January 4, 2012

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