Microsoft congratulates the following Unlimited Potential (UP) grant recipients. We are proud to support their work.
United States
Rocky Mountain Mutual Housing Association, Phoenix, AZ
The mission of the Rocky Mountain Mutual Housing Association is to create housing opportunities for families through community investment and partnerships. The association supports the working poor and their families by providing quality, affordable housing and on-site leadership-development opportunities. The Microsoft grant supports the establishment of the association's fifth community technology center. This new center will be in a community meeting area in the association's new low-income apartment community at north Phoenix. The center will serve the technological needs of low- and moderate-income children and adults by offering structured, formalized instruction in computer basics and Internet use. Additionally, youth programs will support in-school learning (SAT/ACT preparation classes, math and science support) and a youth computer club.
Citizens Housing Corp. (CHC), San Francisco, CA
CHC builds affordable new homes and preserves existing affordable units for a diverse population of low-income seniors and families. CHC has more than 2,500 units occupied or under development throughout California. The grant from Microsoft will help develop computer learning centers (CTLCs) at six properties, providing educational and vocational training to residents. Supported by trained interns, the CTLCs will offer residents hands-on training for their specific needs This program has the potential of reaching more than 600 low-income households in the Bay Area.
Break Away Technologies, Los Angeles, CA
Microsoft has been partnering with Break Away Technologies since 1997 to provide computer access to disadvantaged individuals in 216 community technology centers throughout the United States; in Accra, Ghana; and in Lagos, Nigeria. Now that the goal to establish 200 technology centers has been met, Break Away and Microsoft are partnering for part two of this vision, Smarthood.net. Smarthood.net builds curriculum into technology centers so that people can learn IT skills and gain employment in IT jobs. Microsoft support will be used for operating support at the Los Angeles Center and for the hiring and salary of IT instructors.
Bill Wilson Center, Santa Clara, CA
Bill Wilson Center supports and strengthens the community by serving youth and families through counseling, housing, education, and advocacy services. The Bill Wilson Drop-In Center in downtown San Jose provides youth (ages 13-22) who are living on the streets with basic support, such as meals, clothing, and prevention services. The Microsoft grant will support the development of a computer-skills training program for the youth served by the drop-in center. The agency estimates that of the 750 drop-in center clients, 200 will receive basic computer skills training and access to the Internet and 150 will receive employment-specific services through computer technology.
InnVision, San Jose, CA
InnVision has served the poor and homeless in the Silicon Valley since 1973, providing shelter, transitional housing, and other human-service assistance. The Microsoft grant will support a new computer lab at the new site of the Georgia Travis Center, a multiservice day center for homeless and very low-income women and children. The computer lab will provide over 5,000 homeless and very low-income clients with access to computer training and technology. Others involved in the project include IBM and Cisco.
Opportunities Industrialization Center West (OICW), Menlo Park, CA
OICW is a job-training center whose mission is to change the lives of low-income people through education, attitude and job-skills training, career placement, and youth and child development. The organization provides full-time vocational training classes, career placement services, academic skills training, and youth programs. The Microsoft grant will support OICW's Technology Center: Access & Training (TCAT) program. The Technology Center offers technology access and training through three programs. Full-Time Vocational Training is a 21-week course that prepares students for work and provides access to an array of case-management services to ensure their success. School After School for Successful Youth (SASSY) is an after-school program for low-income youth at risk of dropping out of high school. SASSY students can earn credit toward their high school graduation by learning office skills or basic Web-page design skills. Evening Program provides basic technology training to the working poor. Other funders include Agilent and HP.
Sacred Heart, San Jose, CA
The Lifelong Learning Technology Center will serve 590 very low-income people during the next fiscal year through the Preschool, Homework Club, and Academic Summer Day Camp programs for children and through the ESL, computers and keyboarding, and JobLink programs for adults. Other corporate supporters of Sacred Heart include HP and Salomon Smith Barney.
Colorado Center for the Blind (CCB), Littleton, CO
CCB is a rehabilitation center for persons of all ages who are legally blind. CCB has provided specialized services to people who are blind since 1988. The center is one of three in the United States offering comprehensive, integrated training that results in students who are blind being able to live and compete on equal terms with their sighted peers and to fully participate in their communities. CCB provides training to employers, community members, and educators. With Microsoft support, CCB will be able to train students on state-of-the-art computers, adaptive technology for people who are blind, and successful use of Microsoft software.
Denver Children's Home School, Denver, CO
Denver Children's Home provides a therapeutic, safe place for emotionally distressed children and adolescents ages 6 to 18, along with their families, to heal and grow. Ninety-five percent of the children are from low-income families and have no access to mental-health care. With support from Microsoft, Denver Children's Home will update its computer lab with state-of-the-art equipment that will enable students to learn and become proficient in the latest computer applications.
New Hope for Kids, Maitland, FL
New Hope for Kids assists children who are suffering from life-threatening illnesses or physical disabilities. This grant will go toward the purchase of hardware that will help the organization provide technology training for these children, including computer and technical instruction, training in basic software programs, and training on Internet use.
Idaho Youth Ranch, Boise, ID
For 50 years the Idaho Youth Ranch has provided youth and their families with a continuum of care, including residential treatment, community-based group homes, independent-living services, in-home family counseling, and alternative education. The Pacwest office has provided support to the Idaho Youth Ranch and its locations across the state for more than four years. The Idaho Youth Ranch's Hays Shelter Home is the organization's newest program. When it opens it will provide Idaho's Treasure Valley with a shelter for abused, neglected, abandoned, runaway, and homeless youth. The TEC grant will help purchase computers, printers, scanners, and high-speed access for the computer lab at the new shelter.
Spanish Coalition for Jobs, Chicago, IL
This organization serves 3,000 individuals yearly and offers an array of high-quality educational, vocational training programs and work-force services. This grant will help establish a community technology center that will give Latinos from underserved communities access to computers for technological training and career development. This will enable clients to become digitally literate and improve their economic prospects. The majority of the funds will go toward computer hardware. A Microsoft Enterprise Strategy Consultant is a volunteer and advocate for this organization. Other corporations in Chicago support this organization and serve on the board of directors, including Exelon Corporation, Kemper Insurance, Bank One, IBM, and Tribune Broadcasting.
Catholic Community Services of Baton Rouge, Inc., Baton Rouge, LA
In 1965, Catholic Community Services was created to reach out to people most vulnerable in the community-people with little hope for the future. This grant will create and support a mobile computer lab that will assist disadvantaged adults and youth in developing their technology skills. The funding will go toward hardware and training. A Microsoft employee has volunteered his time to support the program by providing technical consulting and will work with the local Microsoft district office to provide additional training materials.
Codman Square Health Center, Dorchester, MA
The mission of the technology center at the Codman Square Health Center is to provide the diverse members of the community with the technical tools, training, and space with which to strengthen their lives and the life of the neighborhood. The grant from Microsoft will support the CyberShop program offered at the technology center. CyberShop is a micro-enterprise program providing low-income teen girls with a demanding and supportive environment for learning critical thinking, decision-making, and basic computer skills. Teens learn marketable high-end graphic design and business skills, including how to create PowerPoint presentations.
Horace Mann Educational Associates (HMEA), Franklin, MA
The mission of Horace Mann Educational Associates is to affirm and promote the values, dreams, and potential of people with developmental disabilities through education, support, and life experience. Their programs include family support, children's services, residential services, and day services. This grant will go toward the installation of a technology center that will be available for use by individuals with significant disabilities, specifically young adults with special needs. These young adults will have the opportunity to become familiar with the use and functioning of computers and to learn technical skills as they transition from high school to the workplace.
Clay Street Computer Learning Center, Annapolis, MD
The Clay Street Computer Learning Center is dedicated to providing access to technology and computer skills training to underprivileged children and adults in the Clay Street neighborhood of Annapolis. The computer lab is an after-school program serving approximately 30 elementary- and middle-school students. The lab focuses on enhancing computer skills and using the computer to explore creative ways to learn. Several Microsoft employees have been involved with Clay Street through active volunteering, including mentoring and planning summer programming. The grant from Microsoft will enable the expansion of the computer lab.
Child Abuse and Neglect Council of Oakland County, Pontiac, MI
The council's mission is to be an advocate for the safety of all children and to be the leading resource in the prevention of child abuse and the protection of all children through education, intervention, treatment, and research in collaboration with the community.
The Disability Network, Flint, MI
The Disability Network's mission is to promote self-sufficiency and the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in their community. Through an accessible community technology center, the network provides opportunities for people to learn computer literacy skills; try out high-tech assistive technologies; and access classes that lead to employment, educational opportunities, and independent living. This grant will go toward the purchase of hardware and assistive technology for the computer lab.
CLUES, St. Paul, MN
This grant will assist CLUES in purchasing hardware and furniture for its lab. It will allow CLUES to carry out its fundamental and core service of delivering Computer Assisted Language Learning in rural Minnesota. This project offers technological skill development programs in the Latino community of southern Minnesota. This technology center will be the third center CLUES has put into operation and will provide computer literacy classes that include training on basic computer and office productivity software.
School of the Ozarks, Point Lookout, MO
Since 1991, the School of the Ozarks has been implementing a variety of programs and initiatives aimed at nurturing technological and educational advancement for students, senior citizens, and youth. This grant will help the School of the Ozarks upgrade their existing computer lab by expanding the number of computers and upgrading existing systems. This lab provides hands-on training and training in computer skills such as using the Internet, e-mail, and productivity software.
Burnsville Recreation and Learning Center, Inc., Polkton, NC
This organization will use the grant to upgrade a lab with computers, workstations, and printers. The center's computer lab offers computer training and educational assistance to area residents and currently offers basic and advance computer classes and a tutoring program for children. Its mission is to promote a stronger rural family relationship, stimulate creativity, and motivate the users of the facility, encouraging them to reach their highest potential.
Christ Our Shepherd Center, Matthews, NC
This lab offers basic and improved computer technology training for youth, an after-school computer learning program, and a bi-weekly computer club to enhance interest and skills in technology. It will also launch classes for youth and adults that focus on basic education in skills for technology. The funds will be used to purchase 15 computers, monitors, and workstations. Of those 15 workstations, 2 will be "child-sized" and at least 1 will be accessible to people with disabilities. Microsoft employees will assist with the set-up and installation of this lab and will also provide ongoing tutoring and teaching of the technical applications to youth, adults, and staff.
Discovery Place, Inc., Charlotte, NC
The mission of Discovery Place, Inc., is to stimulate the public's interest in an understanding of science, mathematics, and technology by providing quality educational activities, exhibits, programming, and facilities. This grant will create a traveling computer learning lab as part of its Science Club Program. This lab will provide weekly technology outreach and science education to approximately 1,000 students. The lab will provide an opportunity for these students to develop their technology skills by providing computer training, Internet use, and training with productivity software.
CHARISM Family Center, Fargo, ND
Funding from this grant will provide upgraded desktops to this computer training center and to the new computer training center in another high-risk neighborhood. These labs and state-of-the-art resources will be used to train adults who otherwise would not have access to technology training, thus allowing them to increase their job skills, become more marketable, and improve their living conditions. CHARISM's mission is to create opportunities for individuals and families to increase their strength and potential.
The Girls Scout Council of Greater New York, New York, NY
The Girls Scout Council of Greater New York is the largest girl-serving agency in the city, serving more than 26,500 girls ages 4 to 17. Approximately 40 percent live below poverty. The Microsoft grant will support the Tech Partnership Program, providing girls with the opportunity to improve their computer skills at a central New York City location. At the end of the first year, approximately 60 Cadets and Senior Girl Scouts will have completed courses in desktop publishing and Web design. Several Microsoft employees in the New York area volunteer to support the Girl Scouts and will be involved in the implementation of this program.
Association to Benefit the Children (Echo Park Community Center), New York, NY
This organization was established in response to the ever-growing problems of poverty and homelessness and their effect on children. Echo Park, a 27,000-square-foot family center, includes a technology center where community members can attend on-site computer training in basic computer literacy, navigating the operating system, word processing, digital photo manipulation, and software graphics. The grant from Microsoft will assist in outfitting this lab with hardware, furniture, and software.
12 & 12, Inc., Tulsa, OK
12 & 12's mission is to restore alcohol- and drug-dependent men and women to productive membership in their families, work, and community. It was founded in 1985 and has grown into one of the largest nonprofit, comprehensive substance-abuse treatment centers in Oklahoma. This grant will help fund a technology training center by creating a 15-desktop computer lab. This lab will provide computer technology classes and basic IT skills training.
Sisters of the Road Café, Portland, OR
The Microsoft Pacwest office has partnered with the Sisters Café, providing the nonprofit with staff to support its services. The Pacwest office is excited about this opportunity to improve and enhance the café's technology training and resource center. There are currently limited options in Portland for underserved communities to gain technology skills. The Pacwest office will provide volunteers to deploy this software contribution and to support the technology training the café provides. After about 24 years of operation, the original goals of the café remain unchanged: to be a safe, public place for everyone, especially women and children; to offer nourishing meals at little cost or in exchange for labor; and to offer job training and employment experience to local residents.
Friendship House, Scranton, PA
Since 1871, the Friendship House has provided shelter for children, helping them learn and grow. Youth accessing Friendship House services are overcoming the hardships of poverty and emotional illness, often associated with abuse, neglect, learning disabilities, and lack of education. The Microsoft grant will help upgrade the existing center to create a state-of-the-art learning environment. More than 240 boys and girls (ages 6 to 16) from poor families and neighborhoods will have daily access to information technology.
Enterprise Center, Philadelphia, PA
The Enterprise Center was founded in 1989 with support from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton Small Business Development Center. The center's goals are to simulate economic development, create community wealth, and provide a catalyst for neighborhood and urban revitalization through the power of entrepreneurship. The grant from Microsoft will support the expansion of IT training programs for local high school youth.
Enterprise for Progress in the Community (EPIC), Yakima, WA
Enterprise for Progress in the Community is a nonprofit agency that has been providing direct services to children, youth, and their families for 36 years. Each year, EPIC serves more than 3,500 individuals. This grant will allow a greater variety of educational and training opportunities and provide for the Learning Laboratory. The purpose of the Learning Laboratory is to increase the employment competitiveness of disadvantaged youth, adults, and agencies in an area that is recognized as economically distressed but culturally rich. This project, coupled with the plans for a mobile computer laboratory, will improve the reach into the community.
Urban Alliance Foundation, Washington, D.C.
The Urban Alliance was founded in 1996 to create employment and educational opportunities for economically disadvantaged high school students in Washington, D.C. The alliance provides high school and college students with education and job-skills enrichment programs through instruction and on-the-job training and mentoring. The grant from Microsoft will support the expansion of the organization's computer learning center.
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