CTEP's Community Outreach Nears the Century Mark

March 31, 2003

March 31, 2003, Greencastle, Ind. - Nearly one hundred local families and charitable organizations have now been helped by the Community Technology Enhancement Program (CTEP), which collects computer hardware from DePauw University and the Putnam County community, refurbishes the equipment, and distributes it to people in need. The adjacent photo shows Nick Heiny, a DePauw sophomore and Information Technology Associate, delivering a computer to the Whitaker family in Bainbridge.

"One person at a time, we are providing families with tools that can enhance their childrens' educations and provide access to a world of ideas, information and opportunities to learn and explore," says Bob Hershbeger, assistant professor of Spanish and film at DePauw and coordinator of CTEP. "This program has become a remarkable new bridge between the University and the Putnam County community, and an important way for DePauw to affirm its commitment to improving the lives of its neighbors."

CTEP also provides training for local residents. DePauw sophomores Elyssa Ferguson, head of the Civic Fellows program, and Nick Dimos, director of community relations for DePauw Community Service (both programs are administered by DePauw's Hartman Center for Civic Education and Leadership), are serving as technology mentors for Randy Robinson (far left) and Rufus Gaston (3rd from the right). Randy and Rufus are high school students who were identified as qualified recipients of CTEP computers by Kelsey Kauffman, the newly elected president of the local chapter of the NAACP. Gaston and Robinson both participated in the NAACP's ACT-SO summer technology program last year. (photo shows l-r: Robinson, Ferguson, Dimos, Gaston, Hershberger and Kauffman)

The community at large is invited to attend CTEP's "Internet 101" class, Tuesday, April 8, from 7 to 9 p.m. in room 113 of the Julian Science and Math Center. Topics will include word processing, e-mail, web surfing, public databases and basics of the computer environment. It's an opportunity for computer novices and "newbies" to learn the basics from the CTEP team, free of charge. For more information, contact Adam Cohen at (765) 658-4119 or e-mail him by clicking here.

In January, CTEP's reach extended globally. The organization shipped two PCs to Tierra Nueva in Quito, Ecuador, "to allow for video exchanges between young folks in Quito Sur, one of the poorest areas in Quito, and DePauw students," Dr. Hershberger says. DePauw senior Andy McGovern, a Spanish and Computer Science major, spent January in Ecuador as a Winter Term in Service and installed the computers.

CTEP recently also delivered two computers to Putnam County Comprehensive Services, another pair to Gathering Grounds coffee house (to serve as free internet access portals for the Greencastle Community), and one computer each to Habitat for Humanity and Hope's Way for special needs children and their families.

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