Forty refurbished computers will find new homes in Columbia this Saturday.
The City of Columbia partnered with the Voluntary Action Center and the Downtown Optimist Club to deliver the computers to low-income families as part of the Homes for Computers Program. The City of Columbia established this program in 2003 to assist families with children in the public-school system.
Leigh Kottwitz is with the Office of Neighborhood Services. She says the computers are important for education
“Especially when we think of children that can benefit from computers in the home and access to the internet or just to be able to do homework on a computer. This is a great asset to those families to have computer in the home that maybe would not otherwise be able to afford that”
Along with the distribution, the Boone County Sherriff’s Department will also provide an internet safety training course. This year’s event will push the number of donated computers over 530 since the program’s founding.
Ashley Jarrett, a staff member at the Voluntary Action Center, says these computers will help children adjust to school.
“By providing computers to these children it really gives them an idea of what to expect as far as being able to navigate and use computers, but also be able to stay on course with the rest of the children that they are in school with.”
The computers were refurbished by the Career Center at the University of Missouri. Distribution of the computers will take place Saturday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Downtown Optimist Club building.
