Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Thanks the NVTC Foundation for Starting Computer Clubhouses, Bridging the "Digital Divide"

FAIRFAX, Va., Sept. 24, 2002 - The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has publicly recognized and thanked the Northern Virginia Technology Council Foundation for establishing the computer clubhouse program, which bridges the "digital divide" for children in the county's low-income communities. The Fairfax supervisors commended the foundation for creating the public-private partnership that makes the clubhouse program's funding possible.

The board recognized the NVTC Foundation for its "long and caring history of providing technological tools and Internet skills beyond the daily classroom to children who do not have the benefits of these resources in their home." It also said the foundation provides assistance and resources that enables "our county's underserved young people to bridge the digital divide."

NVTC Foundation Chairman Dan Bannister said Fairfax County's recognition is for the work of the foundation and its board of trustees as well as the members of the NVTC who have made the clubhouse program a reality.

"The NVTC Foundation is proud to have raised over $500,000 from member companies to support these important facilities," Bannister said, "and that effort continues as we fund more clubhouses and other programs that will ensure Northern Virginia's prominence in the technology industry in the future."

The first computer clubhouse was started at the Gum Springs Community Center in south Fairfax County in 1999. An original pilot site for PowerUp, a partnership between America's Promise and The Steve and Jean Case Foundation, the Gum Springs Computer Clubhouse seeks to bridge the digital divide for disadvantaged youth.

Today the clubhouse continues to receive funding from the NVTC Foundation and other organizations, as well as the government. The money is used to hire trained educators and AmeriCorps Vista workers to supervise and help the children after school with projects aimed at improving their computer skills.

Another clubhouse was started in the Bailey's Crossroads area last year, and next month a third one will open at the Willston Multicultural Center in Seven Corners, both located in Fairfax County.

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About the NVTC Foundation
The NVTC Foundation was founded to encourage and facilitate corporate efforts to give something back to the community and specifically looks for community initiatives based in Northern Virginia that include technology as an important component in their mission. It is a charitable 501(c)(3) organization and contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. The NVTC Foundation is affiliated with the Northern Virginia Technology Council, a membership organization of more than 1,300 companies representing nearly 170,000 people involved in the technology industry in the Northern Virginia region. More information about the programs that it supports can be found on its Web site at www.nvtc.org/foundation.