Computers For Families (CFF) has the strategic mission of ensuring that young students are provided with opportunities to learn technology in public schools and at home in order to remove the negative consequences of the digital divide. Santa Barbara Partners in Education (Partners), a non-profit organization, supports this mission by providing all students from low-income families with donated refurbished computers, discounted Internet access, training and instruction. The Santa Barbara County Education Office (SBCEO) integrates the CFF program’s operational components—Distribution, Family Training Night, SBCEO Portal, etc.—with its Media and Instruction department's strategic goals.

La raison d’être for the CFF Blueprint became evident during the initial year of its Linux Pilot project. The use of Open Source Software not only provides positive financial incentives but its ability to easily customized to meet the specific requirements of a targeted end user operating environment represents a strategic advantage for replicating the CFF program, internationally. With major hardware vendors now offering Linux distros, economies-of-scale are forcing software vendors to offer their products for Linux platforms. Therefore, non-profit organizations can use the CFF Blueprint to offer Linux based refurbished computers to young students to use in their homes with confidence and at less cost. The concept of using senior volunteers, doing “good work”, to implement the CFF Blueprint has been proven to be successful. Two retired seniors with long careers at Raytheon and IBM have been fulfilling these responsibilities for CFF since April 2006. In addition, Title V funding from the United States Department of Labor is being utilized through their Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) program. This represents an innovative approach that could be copied wherever Government funding exists to encourage utilization of the emerging workforce of “baby boomers”. In combination with the use of Free and Open Source Software the Linux Pilot project is responsible for this paradigm for removing the digital divide.

A Gantt chart containing the strategic components of the CFF Blueprint illustrateing how the CFF Blueprint will be created is as follows:

While the challenges of distributing a large number of refurbished computers present problems that warrant serious consideration alone, the effectiveness of these computers for the CFF initiative is based on their ability to provide an affordable, safe and stable end-user experience for students accessing the Internet. Therefore, alliances must to be formed with organizations that can provide dependable low-cost, high-speed Internet access. The hardware has to be virus free and configured with enough processor speed, hard disk capacity and memory to function adequately. The operating system software, acquired by joining the Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher (MAR) Americas program, must be configured with the latest updates. In addition, extensive searching for device driver software that matches the specific hardware components installed on each computer must be accomplished. An infrastructure with a proxy server and firewall must be in place to protect the students from predators and inappropriate material. The effectiveness of the CFF initiative is monitored through Family Distribution Night events with subsequent tracking of confirmed Internet connections as recorded in the CFF database. Although it has taken several years to define and implement hardware with software to meet past requirements, they are continually changing for the CFF initiative.

This project is a direct result of the vision initiated during 2006 by CFF with its enrollment in the Title V Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) to utilize senior volunteers in Santa Barbara. Minimum hourly pay and Workers Compensation is funded by a Federal Grant to provide part-time community training assignments to Host Agencies that serve varying needs in a community. Through this alliance the goals of each initiative have been able to achieve mutual realization. Upon review of the respective mission statements, it is clear that by carefully following their requirements, a unique and innovative way to meet the common goals of CFF and SCSEP was found. There is, however, precedent for this type involvement. In schools, the Digital Divide is being addressed through Federal Title I funds with the Technology Literacy Challenge Initiative and E-rate program (discounted internet access for schools and libraries). Access to a Broadband Internet connection in the home has been identified, in the U.S. Commerce Department 2002 report “A Nation Online”, as the most significant barrier to bridging the Digital Divide in America. Therefore, CFF type programs could be a strategic tool to help remove this barrier!

My volunteer work at CFF is a good example for this application. After over 40 years in the ICT field, I desired a way to do “good work” while also meeting the health care financial needs of retirement on social security and a small pension. Becoming a SCSEP volunteer at CFF fulfilled my dream. The reward of seeing the joy filled eyes of 4th grade elementary school students when they receive a CFF computer is hard to express. I am honored to be the first of many SCSEP volunteers at CFF who will hopefully follow my example, and I feel that there are many “baby boomers” who share my situation.

As should be expected, enrollment with a federally funded Title V program required executive level involvement at CFF and its founding organizations. Just allowing volunteers to work with children receiving CFF computers required extensive steps to ensure the safety of young children. A special room with office furniture, computers, Internet access, workbench and test facilities have been created to provide a comfortable work environment for volunteers. My wife and I have been invited to several of the Breakfast, Dinner, Luncheon, etc.

In my opinion, the most important ingredients needed for the success of this project are the collaborative partnership alliances that need to be created in other communities. A strategic impairment to creating CFF type programs around the world is the cost of ICT skilled individuals to fulfill the computer refurbishment, software implementation/maintenance, distribution and R&D requirements. Government, Privatel, etc., funded programs can be used to provide senior volunteers to solve this problem. Thereby, displacing the highest cost for providing computers in the homes of families who might not be able to own one. Accomplishing the goals of these alliances, however, requires local businesses, schools and families to unite so that all students can experience technology-supported learning. A Stockholm Challenge Award for the CFF Blueprint can help to bring this type solution to the attention of decision makers needed to counter the effects of the Digital Divide!