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Service Group Gives 82 Computers To Students In Need

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By MIKE WELLS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 16, 2007

TAMPA - For parents who can barely afford to buy school clothes for their children, the cost of a personal computer and software is often out of reach.

That's why a local nonprofit service organization, Computer Mentors Group, partnered with donors to provide free home computers Saturday to families with children attending Tampa Academy Prep Center as part of a back-to-school giveaway.

'I was really amazed,' said Trenequa Harrison, a Tampa mother of four.

'I think it was really great for the kids. They need this up-to-date technology for the real world.'

Harrison's 11-year-old daughter, Ammara, said she will enjoy using the refurbished computer for researching homework assignments, e-mailing her friends and playing games on the Disney Web site.

Volunteers gave away computer systems from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Computer Mentors' office, 2802 E. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. In all, 82 computers were given away, each worth about $1,000 in hardware and software, said Ralph Smith, executive director. Ten more families plan to pick up their computers this Saturday.

Each student received a computer with 40 gigabytes of memory and a Pentium III or Pentium IV processor, a 17-inch monitor, keyboard, mouse and modem, and each computer was installed with the latest Microsoft software, including Microsoft Office.

The computers also came equipped with free dial-up Internet access through service provider Juno.

'We would have liked to have provided broadband access, but we simply couldn't afford it this time,' Smith said.

Established in 1997, Academy Prep is a private school for economically disadvantaged middle school students. To be considered for admission, children must qualify for need-based scholarships. The school has 104 students.

Donors included Russ Hobbs of the Hobbs Family Foundation, Microsoft and Verizon. Many of the computers were donated by Raymond James Financial, Smith said. Volunteers from Microsoft and Verizon assisted families with technical questions.

Computer Mentors offers computer literacy classes to Hillsborough County residents Monday through Thursday nights at its offices. The classes are divided among children 13 and younger, teens and adults. The lifetime membership fee is $20.

'That's the only fee the kids will ever have to pay here,' Smith said.

Teens can take a class to build their own computer and then take it home at no extra cost, he said.

'I do like to listen to music on my computer,' said 11-year-old Alterria Pyles, 'but I also like to play games and downloading pictures. I like to look for pictures of my favorite music artists, and I also watch the Discovery Channel and then look up their Web page for something I saw on there that I can draw.'

Her mother, Monica Ivery, said she was happy to receive the gift.

'Her father and I are separated, and now she can have one to use over at her father's house and one at home,' Ivery said. 'It's super. It's outstanding.'

Reporter Mike Wells can be reached at (813) 259-7839 or mwells@tampatrib.com.

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