In 1998, a Charlottesville survey found that a disproportionate number of students did not have access to a computer - a problem that could result in poor graduation and even poorer higher education rates. In 1999, with initial funding from a Department of Commerce grant, Computers4Kids (C4K) opened as a year-round computer center to counter this issue. Now, the nonprofit has expanded greatly, providing its members with daily, hands-on STEAM learning opportunities, side-by-side with volunteer mentors from the community. On top of this, C4K produces results with 90% of members reporting that both graduating from high school and continuing their education after high school is important to them.
"I love our organization because it provides a chance to make sure young people know where they belong and provide them the support to get them where they want to go," Tricia Howell, the Recruitment and Retention Coordinator, explains. Howell works to recruit youth for the nonprofit's programs as well as volunteers for the mentor opportunities. She recounts a recent experience in which she spoke with two volunteer UVA students, on track to receive their Ph.D.'s in biomedical engineering, who commended C4K for offering a sense of confidence and belonging they wished they could have had growing up.
It was this same admiration that brought Howell to C4K over six years ago. After working as a schoolteacher in Florida and volunteering in Haiti and Guatemala, Howell was drawn to the Charlottesville nonprofit that "helps young people find their spark and passion." In her time here, Howell has had the opportunity to "see the best of Charlottesville" with volunteers who "care about equity, care about justice" sharing their time and skills.
These volunteers support the C4K through two primary mentor roles. The first aspect is one-on-one mentoring, wherein a mentor is matched with a young person, working together for at least one hour a week for a year. Howell describes how this makes up a "core part" of the nonprofit, "bringing value to both the young person's and the mentor's life." On top of this, C4K welcomes mentors for their "Clubhouse", a maker space that offers a wide variety of STEAM activities, from virtual reality to audio/visual production. Whether mentors are there to lead a workshop or simply play chess with students, their work greatly benefits the organization's youth. Additionally, non-mentoring volunteer opportunities are also emerging, such as refurbishing laptops.
Howell explains that while C4K increases graduation and higher education rates, much of the nonprofit's impact cannot be measured. The organization supports young people during a critical point of their development, offering a neutral third party that will always be there regardless of outside circumstances. More broadly, C4K promotes students into the skill positions of the future where they are often underrepresented. "We need to make sure that the coders of the world represent our community on a more diverse scale," Howell illuminates about the nonprofit's mission. She also details how mentors get the opportunity to learn with their young person interesting skills, such as how to use a vinyl cutter or heat-press, pick up new hobbies, such as amateur photography, and experience a joy that comes with sparking students' passions.
If you are interested in volunteering for C4K, sign-ups can be made at https://www.cvillevolunteer.org/need/detail/?need_id=22585.
If you are interested in supporting C4K outside of volunteering, donations can be made at https://c4kclubhouse.org/donate/. Along with monetary, donations such as laptops and vehicles are always welcome.
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Aug 12, 2021
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by Katharina Ravichandran
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