AT&T Gives $1-Million for Computer Training
April 5, 2007 | Read Time: 1 minute
To help older people become more savvy with Amazon and eBay (or simply learn how to turn on a computer monitor), the AT&T Foundation has donated $1-million to the Oasis Institute.
Oasis — which offers arts, health, and technology classes to elderly people — will use the money to update computers and advertise its workshops in 18 cities, and to found Oasis centers in Atlanta, Miami, and Phoenix. Volunteers teach the classes, which are held in libraries, job centers, and, most often, Macy’s department stores.
Janice M. Branham, director of technology for Oasis, says that although skills vary among people taking the classes, “the one universal thing is they want to learn how to use e-mail.”
The second-most-popular request is to learn how to search for jobs, since many older people want or need to return to work, she says.
The $1-million grant will build on a similar, $500,000 grant AT&T made in 2005, which allowed Oasis to offer computer training to 5,500 adults. Ms. Branham says Oasis plans to train 7,500 more people with the gift. It will also put money into training teachers so that it can offer the classes permanently.
To visit Oasis: Go to http://www.oasisnet.org.
