April 16, 2004 – If you're an executive of an Economic Development Commission beneficiary on St. Thomas looking for a way to fulfill your community commitment, Sen. Celestino A. White Sr. has a project that needs help.
He wants donations to pay for 50 computers to be given to public and private schools and privately run youth programs. The institutions must already have programs in place to put the computers to good use.
"Rather than 'Where are the lights for the basketball court?' we need to concentrate on the obvious — the age of technology," White said on Friday in a letter that was sent to 50 potential donors earlier this month.
He said students are not getting enough experience with computers, which makes them less likely to succeed in the job market.
In his letter, White said that preparing students for the technological age will help to diminish social ills plaguing the community.
He expects to have the computers hooked up by the start of school in September.
Franke Hoheb, White's chief researcher, is coordinating the effort. He said many EDC beneficiaries haven't come up with plans for meeting the requirement that they give back to the community. He said he hopes that a handful of the bigger companies receiving tax breaks will contribute money for the computers as a means of doing so.
A committee consisting of two people from the private sector, one from the educational system and one from White's office will develop criteria to determine who gets the computers, Hoheb said.
For more information, call Hoheb at 693-3568.
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