Connected Tennessee has donated 10 new printers to the Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy on behalf of the Young Women’s Leadership Academy Foundation. The printers were awarded to the academy on Tuesday, March 19 as a part of a donation made by Lexmark International to the Computers 4 Kids program. Kentucky-based Lexmark provided a total of 250 printers to the C4K program.
As part of the Computers 4 Kids: Preparing Tennessee’s Next Generation for Success project, the C4K program deploys computers, academic support programs, and workforce training to two disparate, but especially at-risk, populations: those in the state’s foster care system who are turning 18, and youth who are active in the state›s 76 Boys & Girls Clubs.
Occasionally, the C4K program will also donate printers to local and state organizations, such as the Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy and the Young Women›s Leadership Academy Foundation.
The CGLA, led by Director Dr. Elaine Swafford and Dean of Students Maryo Beck, opened in 2009 with 75 students focusing on a college-prep curriculum based on science, technology, engineering, arts, and math. There are now close to 200 girls in attendance and this spring, CGLA will graduate its first senior class.
«Some of our students do not have access to a reliable printer at home,» said Swafford. «Having this gift in the school will not only encourage our girls to stay after school and get help with homework but also allow them to complete and print it on our campus.»
The «Preparing Tennessee›s Next Generation for Success» project is a result of a $2.3 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant awarded to the C4K program in August 2010 by the U.S. Department of Commerce›s National Telecommunications and Information Administration›s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program. BTOP provides grants to support the deployment of broadband infrastructure, enhance and expand public computer centers.
For more information, visit www.connectedtn.org.
Source: Connected Tennessee