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IN THIS ISSUE
From the Director
Vote for CVM
Funworks
Resources
Flexcar
Digital Promise Wins
4-H Mobile Tech
SCAN Update
Job Readiness Scale
Bits & Bytes
FROM THE DIRECTOR
Meet Maria! In mid-July, Maria participated in a focus group on accessing online medical resources as part of a collaboration between PSACT and King County Housing Authority (KCHA). The event was sponsored by an Express Outreach Award through the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Pacific Northwest Region.
When asked to "share a specific story about successfully obtaining information that helped you make a health-related choice or decision that positively impacted you, a friend or a loved one," Maria began to tell her story in Spanish. Not being bi-lingual, I raised my eyebrows in disbelief as I thought I heard her say that she had been waiting almost two years to enroll in an ESL Level 1 class at Bellevue Community College. Could Maria have fallen through the cracks and gotten lost in the shuffle? After some detective work in which Morgan Zantua, facilitator for PSACT, called a colleague, Elaine Nutter, the new Program Manager for ESL WorkFirst at BCC. It was learned that Maria had enrolled last Fall then dropped out and returned to Mexico. Maria didn't realize she would have to re-enroll. After participating in the focus group the following day, Maria met with Elaine and now is on the waiting list for Fall, 2005. To aid her with computer literacy skills, PSACT will be providing her with a refurbished computer through SCN's Computer Giveaway. Maria's story illustrates the connection between technology and additional service needs.
Maria's story is just one example of how community technology and PSACT as a catalyst can bring resources and communities together. She is the clarion call for community technology providers to collaborate with human service providers by linking residents to needed services. Please join me in our continued efforts to put our mission of "supporting lifelong learning, civic participation, and health communities by strengthening community technology programs" in action.
CVM A FINALIST: VOTE
Community Voice Mail is powered by a relatively simple idea: If you provide homeless or low-income people with free 24-hour personalized voice mail, they can connect with jobs, housing, stability and hope. Community Voice Mail has become one of ten finalists in Amazon.com’s competition to win up to $1 million, possibly affording CVM an unprecedented opportunity to expand its ability to provide free voicemail to people in crisis. Amazon’s Nonprofit Innovation Award garnered more than 1,000 applications. Now the public gets to decide the winner by logging onto Amazon's Web site and "voting" on which organization is worthy of the big prize: the Nonprofit Innovation Award.
Voting is measured according to tax-deductible donations, up to $1000, at the Amazon web site. Your contribution will go directly to the organization profiled on the finalist organization's detail page that you select. CVM's page is here. Look for a donation window on that page. Individuals will have the chance to donate until September 30. Then, Amazon will award a matching grant of up to $1 million, a phenomenal sum to an organization like CVM. Community Voice Mail turns phone lines into lifelines by providing free voicemail to help people find jobs, housing and safety. It's a deceptively simple concept with extraordinary impact.
See the story in the Seattle Post Intelligencer. Help us spread the word in support of one of our local nonprofits.
FUNWORKS
The Career Resources Network project is pleased to announce the launch
of The FunWorks, a career exploration digital library for youth ages
11-15. Designed to capture imaginations and direct youth toward
careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), The
FunWorks is funded by the National Science Foundation as part of its
National Science Digital Library, the Nation's premiere online resource
for STEM education and research. The FunWorks has been developed by the
Gender, Diversities and Technology Institute at Education Development
Center Inc. in collaboration with a youth design team. It places
particular emphasis on engaging youth from populations currently
underrepresented in STEM. To ensure that the site speaks to a youth
audience, children have been involved in every aspect of the project from
initial conceptualization to design and site development, content
selection and pilot testing. More than 300 young people have participated in
the design and launch of this one-of-a-kind collection. Please visit the
site at: thefunworks.org.
The FunWorks was designed with kids for kids, but adults can benefit
too. The FunWorks promotes promising STEM careers by beginning with topics
popular with youth today such as sports, exploration, music and art.
These broad areas of interest are used to draw youth into learning more
about related careers. For example, choose sports as a favorite topic
and quickly discover a host of sports-related careers like industrial
engineer, sports doctor, or physical therapist. Choose Exploration and
learn about the work of cryptographers, civil engineers and marine
biologists. The site leads youth from an overview of these varied
careers to profiles of real people who hold these jobs. Students will
also see recommendations about activities to pursue, books to read, and
classes to take in middle and high school. The FunWorks also features
exciting interactive pursuits, such as on-line knee surgery and a
digital crime-scene investigation.
RESOURCES
Kid-friendly resources linking careers, science, math:
Ask Dr. Math
Hosted by Drexel University, this site has thousands of questions that have been posed by students over several years, with answers by Dr. Math. The link here targets middle school; other related links are available. Dr. Math includes in his discussion how math concepts are used in everyday life and on the job.
Young Investors Network
Smith Barney has made a networked game out of investing. Individuals and teams can register, build an imaginary portfolio, and watch it perform over time. Contains a lot of background info on financial literacy, backed up by some almost-pro quality research and charting tools. They sponsor a school team portfolio competition as well.
GetThatGig.com
This career-exploration site targets youth and highlights the excitement to be found in engineering, science and space exploration. The current month profiles a data engineer for a top Indycar race team, a real rocket scientist working on missile controls at Johns Hopkins, and start-up space tourism company Space Adventures. Want to get serious? There are plenty of drill down links that go out to professional engineering and research groups' Web sites, as well as more varied career links and featured employers.
FUTURE FLEXCAR?
Flexcar made a presentation at PSACT’s Employment Cluster to highlight the firm’s Job Access Program. Made possible by a series of grants and partnerships, this program offers Free Flexcar service to qualifying job seekers working through an agency such as WorkSource. Free use covers job search/interview/training/job-related child care trips; other personal uses are billed at the firm’s hourly rate.
Flexcar is one of those “Why didn’t I think of that?” enterprises headquartered right here in Seattle, with branches in places like Los Angeles, Washington, D. C. and Denver, CO. It’s based on the premise of "Why buy a car when I can time-share one?" Working in conjunction with Metro, the City of Seattle, WorkSource and other agencies, the firm has established a set of Flexcar parking slots scattered throughout the region. To use the system, join up, reserve a car when you need it, walk to the nearest slot where your car will be waiting, use a special member keycard to enter the car, and drive. Gas and insurance are included in the service. Member requirements, like a driver's license, credit/debit card, and good driving record are pretty normal. It's reasonable; see their Web site, avail in Spanish, for details.
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DIGITAL PROMISE
GETS HUD AWARD
Left to right, Digital Promise president Joseph B. Diehl;
Thaddeus Miles, executive director of MASSImpact;
Delores Pruden, director of Neighborhood Networks, HUD; and
Jacque Cook, Seniors Compute and Digital Promise.
Congratulations to Digital Promise, which was recognized by HUD at a recent conference in Orlando, Florida, for their work in under-served communities. This year they completed a project commissioned by the City of Seattle to develop a "toolkit" contained on one CD ROM, that can be used widely by all computer center managers to provide immediate resources and support to the folks they serve. To date, the organization has helped start and maintain over 50 computer learning centers in low income housing developments and distributed over $100,000 in hardware and software."
"Digital Promise was the first neighborhood networks consortium formed in the nation to address the growing problem of the digital divide. Originally known as the Washington State Neighborhood Networks Consortium, Digital Promise focuses on the needs of residents in low-income, elderly and disabled housing communities in Washington. By supporting computer learning centers in these facilities, they helped the most under-served populations learn to use computers and the Internet. A diverse and powerful coalition of people and resources, Digital Promise works in partnership with the private sector, community-based non-profits, government agencies, affordable housing centers, and residents to realize the vision of a community where no one is left behind.
4-H MOBILE TECH
4-H Satellite Mobile Van
Carey Roos at Washington State University Extension 4H Youth Development Program gave PSACT and other participants at the July Employment Cluster group a sneak peek of their satellite mobile van. The mobile technology van can be seen around the state of Washington providing computer and internet access to areas not readily accessible.
The van has a busy schedule traveling from various 4H events. Some of these are the King County Fair in Enumclaw, 4H Technology Conference in Snohomish, and at PSACT’s Youth Cluster group in Seattle in August. WSU makes the van available for use by Washington State 4-H county offices and groups.
The van itself has a capacity for 15 laptops providing satellite Internet connection for training opportunities and demonstrations. In order for the van to have connectivity with the laptops, the van must park with a clear view of the southeastern sky away from telephone poles, trees, buildings, etc. This can sometimes be a challenge within the city.
If you would like to see the van or learn more about the van and the programs 4H has to offer their youth, visit their website.
SCAN UPDATE
Community Access to Media
Preserved Through SCAN
SCAN Community Media has launched a video stream of the cable channel in a partnership with Seattle Community College TV. SCAN board member and chief engineer for SCCTV, David Moody, developed and implemented the hardware and software to feed to the SCCTV "headend" at North Seattle Community College. Interested viewers can tune in at www.scantv.org.
SCAN continues to work with youth organizations and just concluded a media and alcohol project with White Center Recreation Center and will be working with Issaquah Community Center in August and with the Ethiopian Community Center starting this month.
Classes are offered regularly at SCAN and interested students can participate at no or very low cost. For class listings, check the website. Once certified, students can use equipment and facilities, reserve air time and participate in the lottery for seasonal series time. For more information check their web site.
SCAN invites non-profits to learn more about making their own media programs.
Workshops for Nonprofits
SCAN Community Media has announced a series of free Community Media Workshops to begin later this month. In making the announcement, Mike Roberge, director of Outreach, Promotion and Programming said, "These monthly workshops are designed specifically to help non-profit organizations develop public service announcements that feature their group or an upcoming event." Roberge added that SCAN provides all of the technical resources required to produce a public service announcement, and will schedule it to show on the cable television channel, as well.
"It’s a real win-win," said Ann Suter, SCAN’s executive director. "Non-profit groups are introduced to the facilities and programs that are available through SCAN, and we make new friends by providing a much need service, particularly for smaller organizations that lack the resources necessary to create media messages." Suter noted that the non-profits also get a copy of their public service announcement to take to other access facilities.
The Community Media Workshops are scheduled on the fourth Monday of every month and are held at SCAN’s north Seattle studios, located at 1125 North 98th Street. "We start with the basics," said Roberge, "Questions like who’s your market, what’s the message, the timing of the message, and how it might support other communication strategies. Then it’s on to working with some tools to help conceptualize the message and build it into a storyboard." Participants finish the storyboards by developing their scripts, and then have their announcements produced at a follow up appointment.
SCAN is a citizens' media communication center providing channels for diverse expression and community development through access to non-commercial television. Through a management contract with the City of Seattle, SCAN has cablecast in excess of 20,000 hours of programming over the last four years. SCAN is carried on cable channel 77 / 29 over Comcast Cable and Millennium Digital Media throughout Seattle and King County, and parts of South Snohomish County. SCAN programs are also streamed in real time over the Internet. For more information, contact SCAN at (206) 522-4758 or visit the SCAN website at www.scantv.org.
BITS & BYTES
SCAN has another initiative underway. Their youth program efforts are making some headway, and they are
working with existing groups to support their video programming needs and interests including:
- on site or special video production classes
- understanding media and messages (media literacy)
- counter ads and PSA's by youth, for youth
- "unadulterated" - compilations of youth video productions
- "Conversation Cafe" - discussions on current topics
As these plans firm up, there will be more information sent to youth organizations, schools and partners.
Measuring Employment Readines: For a state-of-the-art tool to assess client readiness and demonstrate the impact of employment services, see the new web-based Employment Readiness Scale (ERS)/ Escala de empleabilidad (EE). PSACT members receive a 10% product discount. For further information, contact Barry Brown at
(800) 368-1571.
Phase 2 PSACT Web Site If you haven't been there recently, check out our updated Phase 2 Web site, www.psact.org. You'll find new curriculum materials in English, Spanish and Chinese; Cluster Group findings in the Knowledge Base, and items being added daily to the Classifieds. While you're at it, go to Forum, create a username, and get to talking to one another. You can create a new topic, comment on an old one, take a poll, or create a poll. Still free.
EMPLOYMENT READINESS SCALE
Developed and pilot tested (758 clients) in British Columbia, the Employment Readiness Scale (ERS) is making its way southward for adoption as an assessment tool to help clients of agencies such as WorkSource. The ERS was previewed via PowerPoint at the recent PSACT Employment Cluster Group meeting July 11 at Renton WorkSource.
The ERS assessment tests for several facets of self-sufficiency, stress management/understanding and general coping skills as these factors apply in the workplace. It’s aimed at not just getting a job, but keeping it. There’s more detail on the ERS Web site, where the default entry page has portals to Client, Agency and Sponsor regions in both English and Spanish.
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