Changing Lives One Laptop at a Time

October 10, 2018

Angela Foote 3

Angela Foote (left) with a member of Tech for All

Families experiencing homelessness are   what prompted    Denver, CO    high school student Angela Foote    to really think about    the power of technology.

Angela, who    grew up volunteering for Family Promise of Greater Denver,    witnessed firsthand the impact of homelessness on    teenagers    and    noticed one    of the many    challenges    teens and their families faced    was     a     lack of technology.

“I rely on    technology    every day,” explains Angela. “I saw that families    couldn’t afford computers.    I wondered how homeless kids managed in school without a    computer.”

Family Promise Affiliates provide shared computers in their Day Centers, where case management and other services take place. But after hours, when the Day Centers are closed, families rarely have access to computers of their own.

Denver - Girl Scout 2An active Girl Scout, Angela decided to address this issue for her Gold Award, the highest achievement in Girl Scouting. She discovered Tech for All (T4A), a local nonprofit that refurbishes and donates computers to qualified individuals in the community, and    sought their help developing the     Computers for All     program.

Through    the    program, T4A offers computers to a maximum of five Family Promise families each week – one laptop for every family member – and makes any necessary repairs at no cost. T4A also provides families with one-on-one computer training. In the first few months    102    individuals    have    received    computers, and that number grows each week.

Family Promise    Office and    Volunteer    Coordinator    Miriam Rosenblum    has seen    lives transformed.

“Recently, a    mom    used her computer to    find a full-time job,” says Miriam. “And    her daughters    can    now    do their homework at home. One was    even    awarded ‘most improved    eighth grader’!”

Angela is glad families are being helped and    says her project    has    affected    her, as well.

“Those kids have to deal with challenges I could never imagine,” she says.    “I want their lives to be a little easier.”

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