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Last Update: , by the Volunteer Coordinator

BCN Success Stories

Some quotes from BCN Volunteers and Clients:

• "I'm a retired IBM employee and really enjoy working with our clients and volunteers as they work their way up the learning curve of HTML coding and UNIX operations. I try to find, and make accessible to these folks, the most helpful tools and tutorials pertaining to page development. Its been a lot of fun watching the network grow and, in a small way, help with the growing pains."
  -- Bob Echelmeier , Volunteer, Boulder

• "Because of BCN, Project Self Sufficiency has been able to offer our families access to technology. This technology has given them confidence to seek better jobs, start their own businesses, and compete in today's job market."
  -- Susanne Roser , Director, Project Self Sufficiency

• "I especially enjoy working with seniors, seeing their confidence grow."
  -- Pat Smith , Volunteer, Louisville

• "I've been involved in emergency services for over 25 years as a firefighter, professional rescuer, and volunteer EMS (emergency medical services) person. BCN gives me the opportunity to combine my talents with computers and my love for community service all in one spot."
  -- Paul Tiger , Emergency Center Developer, BCN

• Kalmia Community Center project
  Volunteers connect housing complex to the world*
  

  *Excerpted from the June 14, 1998 Boulder Daily Camera article, "Volunteers connect housing complex to the world," written by Monte Whaley

  Not everyone is wired into the Internet. Don Kava got on his hands and knees Saturday morning to make sure that at least the people at the Kalmia Community Center are plugged into it.

  Kava joined several other technologically skilled volunteers to inspect and upgrade computers given to the center. They worked for about four hours to see how many of the 30 donated keyboards and 15 monitors could be used by families.

  Saturda's effort was sponsored by the Boulder Community Network, which helps community organisations to improve their computer savvy. Since 1994, BCN has introduced more than 200 non-profit organisations to the Internet and helped them develop their own World Wide Web sites.

  Also on hand were members of the Rocky Mountain Internet Users Group and the Mac Users Group who answered BCN's call to put the Kalmia Center on the information highway. The center is a gathering place for the 53-unit Kalmia family-housing complex.

  Popular programs at the center include adult life skills classes and an afterschool tutoring program. Also in the center is the "I Have a Dream Foundation," which promotes life-long learning and school success efforts.

  Once the computers are online, the center will become a technological resource for Kalmia families. Some also will be able to take the computers to their homes.

  "That is the goal of BCN," said volunteer coordinator Brenda Ruth. "We are working to make technology accessible to all people".

  Kava is one of 72 volunteers who work on BCN projects. He oversaw computers at the Rocky Flats nuclear power plant before retirement led him to BCN three years ago.

  "I was just not the type to sit around and do nothing," Kava said. "I wanted to pass along all the information I've gathered over the years to someone else, and I wanted to keep my mind active."

  Kava has tutored people on the use of computers at Lafayette, Broomfield, and Louisville senior centers. When Ruth called him to help out at the Kalmia Center, he couldn't refuse.

  "This project is obviously worthwhile," he said.