Computers For Children: Evening The Score For Western New York Kids
Eric Ortner
North Buffalo Rocket / West Side TimesPHOTO PENDING
Caption: Dennis Gallagher, Elmwood Community Kiwanis President, Katherine V. Johnson/Hoffman, Computers For Children's Executive Director, and Phil Friot, School #36 principal and a recipient of the Computers For Children Program photo: Eric Ortner
March 2000: Katherine V. Johnson/Hoffman spoke to the Elmwood Community Kiwanis on Tuesday, March 7, at the Saratoga Restaurant. Katie Hoffman is the Executive Director of Computers for Children, an organization that refurbishes computers and donates them to needy schools.
Katie said, "To succeed in life, you have to love your job, and I absolutely love my job." The organization was founded in 1997. It has quickly grown to be one of the most successful organizations of its kind. There is a similar program, Computers for Kids, that operates in California and Dallas, Texas. However, Computers for Children is dedicated to the Western New York area.
Ms. Johnson/Hoffman equated the significance of Computers for Children to a pencil. She said, "Imagine not having a pencil. A computer is an equally important part of an education." She continued, "When they say there aren't a lot of jobs out there for our kids, its because they don't have the computer experience needed for modern jobs."
Katie went on to give some surprising statistics. There is one computer for every four children in America. However, this statistic is somewhat astray in Western New York. Here, the average is one computer for every twenty children. "Now in this century, we all know it's a computer world," said Ms. Johnson/Hoffman. This statistic puts WNY children at a serious disadvantage.
New York State as a whole fairs pretty poorly in these statistics though. Only 15% of New York's schools have a computer network system, internet access, and above average availability of computers and CD-ROMs. Sixty-six percent of New York public schools have outdated and inadequate classroom technology.
Recently, the organization has seen a large flow of donated computers. This has resulted from fears over the Y2K bug. Katie said, "They were coming in by the 100s every day." She continued, "Sometimes they have so much dust you can't even tell what they are. One time one came in and I thought it was a vacuum cleaner."
Generally, Computers for Children receives its donations from companies that upgrade their systems. However, there are some surprising statistics here too. Sixty-five percent of corporate computers are stored away after they are outdated, and never used again. Moreover, 15% are scrapped or recycled. However, only 5% are given to schools or nonprofit organizations, and that is unfortunate.
What's really too bad is that Computers For Children can save these computers. Katie Hoffman said, "We can upgrade. We take 486s or newer." They also take color monitors, CD-ROM's working printers, and other peripheral equipment.Katie Hoffman said, "We've probably furnished 35 schools already." It is interesting to note where some of the labor for this refurbishing comes from. About 18 students from Buffalo Vocational Tech. donate their Saturdays to the program. Some of these teens are at-risk youth. Ms. Katherine Johnson/Hoffman said, "It is an incredible site to see kids working together and listening to each other's opinions. One of the kids came up to me and said, 'Mrs. Hoffman, this is like a non-drug high!'"
If you would also like to get involved with Computers for Children, either through a donation of an old computer, some money, or your time, you can call them at 843-8880 or by e-mailing them at kjohffman@computersforchildren.com.
