January 21, 2004
BDBF Annual Letter
by Edward L. DeMore & Steven J. Gag
Happy New Year. We are off to a great start in 2004 and we are writing to you with some great news that we recently received. The Center for Social Policy at the John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies at UMASS Boston (CSP) has found that the Technology Goes Home program is effectively working towards meeting its three primary goals of increasing community collaboration, enhancing employment opportunities for adults and improving academic performance of children.
Midway through a two-year evaluation process the Center for Social Policy has released a summary of their findings (see report). The results indicate that families are becoming closer due to their shared TGH experiences, families are developing strong connections with community agencies and that they are progressing due to their participation in the program. Statistics show that:
· 99% of TGH participants were satisfied with the TGH program
· 95% of the participants said the courses had a strong effect on their computer skills
· 87% of graduates reported that TGH had a strong influence on their connection to the community
· TGH has a strong effect on a child's school performance as stated by 92% of parent participants
Not only has the CSP study affirmed our initial hopes that families would respond positively to substantive training programs but we have also doubled the size of the TGH @ Community program and tripled the size of the TGH @ School program. We have trained 1000 families in just three years!
This year, with the completion of HiQ's generous donation of 1000 computers, we are entering a new phase of the TGH program. In collaboration with FleetBoston Financial we have added a financial literacy chapter to our training curriculum and made it possible for families to receive a guaranteed, interest free loan to aid them in the purchase of a brand new computer. With the assistance of sizable donations from Intel, Microsoft, HiQ and Lexmark, brand new computers that would retail for over $1200 in stores, are available to TGH families for $749 or less. This model was successfully implemented in each school participating in the TGH @ School program.
Now that TGH has reached 1000 households in the city of Boston and we can substantiate our methodology, we find ourselves at an exciting crossroad. We have an opportunity to work collaboratively with a diverse group of neighborhood coordinators and executive directors, as well as other key people, partners and participants that help make TGH possible, in order to broaden and deepen our existing program. Our hope is to build upon the base that we have created and help TGH graduates expand on their successes. The next phase of programming will continue to imbue the same spirit created in graduates' initial 10 weeks with TGH and on the same skills that graduates have already mastered.
There is a great deal to look forward to in 2004. We hope you enjoy the enclosed executive summary from the Center for Social Policy's report. Thank you for your interest in Technology Goes Home and the Boston Digital Bridge Foundation and to our partners and sponsors we truly appreciate your support.
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