 |
||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Community Computer Connection (C3): Volunteer Staff Committed to C3 Mission  The Community Computer Connection (C3) has a full-time staff of three people, but three staff members cannot possibly refurbish 4,000 computers per year and distribute them to the nonprofit and school communities throughout Colorado. Therefore, C3 must maintain a group of dedicated, skilled volunteers and student interns to help with the refurbishment process. Bob Townley, C3 Manager, states, “Our volunteers and student interns are so crucial to the mission of the organization. Their time commitment, skills, and focus on the work are what allow C3 to continue to refurbish more computers each year, which in turn positively effects nonprofit organizations and school recipients.”Retiree George Gammel has been volunteering at C3 for more than four years and when asked why he is so committed to the organization, he responds, “C3 fills a major need in the community and I have the time available to volunteer. Together we get computers to people who need them. It’s a win-win situation.” In addition to older volunteers committing to C3, student interns from local high schools also play a major role in the refurbishment process. C3 has been working closely with the Denver School of Science and Technology (DSST), a public charter high school in Denver Public Schools (see page 10 of this report to learn more about the school), for the past two years. The school encourages students who are interested in learning more about the hardware and software components of computers to intern at C3, and C3 has benefited greatly from utilizing very skilled, interested DSST students. One of these students is Ben Sperr; Ben just recently graduated from DSST in spring 2008. He interned with C3 for two consecutive summers and really enjoys working on computers. Ben first learned about C3 by participating in a computer training Learn and Earn program at Morey Middle School and it was this program that made him want to volunteer for C3: “I think the Learn and Earn program is really great … it’s a program that gets computers to people who  need them.” Ben’s also had the pleasure of seeing his volunteering pay off, “It’s fun to watch C3 recipients … I like helping them load up their equipment because people are always really happy to get their computers.” Ben will be a freshman at the School of Engineering at the University of Colorado in Boulder this fall.The examples of George’s and Ben’s volunteer experiences at C3 illustrate how citizens who give back to their community receive so much as well. To learn more about the Community Computer Connection, visit www.c3-colorado.org. |
||
