PowerUP

Major coalition of businesses, non-profit organisations and the US government launch PowerUP, a major initiative to cross the Digital Divide [November 1999]

A Powerful Program Offering Partnership Brings Funds, People, Skills and Resources Community Learning Centres

More than a dozen non-profit organisations, major corporations and federal agencies have launched a major new multimillion dollar initiative to help ensure that America's underserved young people acquire the skills, experiences and resources they need to succeed in the digital age.

The new initiative, called PowerUPtm, is a unique partnership to give underserved children access to technology and guidance on how to use it. Based in schools and community centres around the country, PowerUP not only will provide young people with access to the wide range of content and information on the Internet; it will also help them develop additional skills they need to succeed in the 21st century.

PowerUP will be able to scale quickly and reach thousands of young people because it will leverage partnerships with numerous public and private organisations, and build on thousands of exiting community centres, schools and other locations nationwide. PowerUP partners will provide technology, funding, trained personnel, in-kind support and other resources to help close the divide between young people who have access to computer-based information or technology-related skills and those who don't.

Gateway Chairman and CEO Ted Waitt, a founding member of the board of PowerUP, said, "The gap between the Internet haves and have-nots is widening along racial, economic and geographic lines, and we absolutely, positively cannot afford another divide in this country. We can pull together. Nothing is more important in our lives and in the future of our communities than ensuring all of our children have access to the tools and information they need to get ahead, and stay ahead."

Created as a non-profit organisation, PowerUP is guided by a board of directors that in addition to Case and Waitt includes: Erskine Bowles, partner at Forstmann Little and former White House chief of staff; Jean Case, President of the Case Foundation; Carly Fiorina, President and CEO of Hewlett-Packard Company; Jack Kemp, Co-Director of Empower America; David Mercer, National Executive Director of YMCA; Sam Nunn, Partner at King and Spalding and former U.S. Senator; Leon Panetta, Director of the
Panetta Institute and former Director of OMB and White House chief of staff; Retired Army General Colin L. Powell, Chairman of America's Promise; Franklin Raines, Chairman and CEO of Fannie Mae; and Roger Staubach, Chairman and CEO, The Staubach Company.

A Powerful Program Offering

PowerUP brings together several critical and innovative program elements to create a powerful offering for community centres, schools and other locations nationwide. Key elements include:

Computers and Internet Access - Through major grants from the Waitt Family
Foundation and the AOL Foundation, PowerUP will provide 50,000 computers
and 100,000 AOL accounts for free Internet access to sites throughout the
country.

Innovative, Life-enriching Interactive Programming - A unique "PowerUP Online" guide aggregates information and organises activities and resources according to the "five promises" identified by America's Promise as essential for children to become successful adults including: tools on how to find a mentor; fun and productive activities to do after school; healthy lifestyle information; exploration of career opportunities and how to acquire the skills needed to take advantage of them; community service; and links with real-time community youth program opportunities provided by participating local youth serving organisations.
PowerUP Online, developed by the AOL Foundation, also includes a scholastic/academic component addressing educational achievement.
An Army of Trained Workers - PowerUP will provide the people power needed to effectively train young people in attaining digital literacy skills while offering them an ongoing relationship with a caring adult in a safe environment. Initially more than 400 specially trained, full-time AmeriCorps*VISTA members and other staff will provide a sustained and trained presence at PowerUP-supported centres where needed. One of the shortcomings in technology education efforts to date has been lack of dedicated, capable adult staff to work with young people in centres on a regular basis.
Partnering with Key Groups to Scale Quickly and on a Large Scale - PowerUP's goal is to scale quickly to reach a national level. It will do this in two ways: by engaging key partner groups at the national and local levels, and by providing flexible program options for existing centres.
Youth-serving organisations - PowerUp will partner with local YMCAs, Boys &
Girls Clubs, Save the Children's "Web of Support" centres, National Urban League, and other organisations with roots in thousands of communities across the country to connect young people with additional learning and positive youth development activities such as after-school sports, arts and crafts, or other classes and technology services. Federal agencies - In keeping with a PowerUP goal of enhancing scholastic achievement and digital literacy, PowerUP will partner with the U.S. Department of Education's Computer Technology Centres and 21st Century Community Learning Centres to supplement and complement educational goals of children both during and after school hours.
Corporations - Companies that have established their own sites or technology programs may choose to add PowerUP program elements, and/or supply additional financing or in-kind support either at the national or local level.
Private individuals and foundations - Financial and in-kind support. Millions of Dollars in Local Community Grants - PowerUP will provide an initial total of $5 million in direct grants to community- and school-based centres who wish to participate in the PowerUP program. Grants may be used for any activities or resource needs that are consistent with PowerUP's program goals. Links with Schools - PowerUP works to enhance scholastic achievement and national digital literacy goals by forming partnerships with local schools and educators. A section of the PowerUP Online guide features a scholastic approach to educational attainment linked to academic curricula, and AmeriCorps*VISTA members are responsible for connecting the PowerUP program with local schools to supplement and complement educational goals of young people both at school and after school.
Healthy Snacks - Through its partnership with PowerBar Inc., PowerUP will provide PowerUP-supported sites with healthy snacks, including PowerBars, PowerBar Harvest bars, and PowerBar Essentials bars.

Steve Case said, "We recognise that there are many projects underway in communities across the nation that seek to bridge the digital divide, but they are fragmented and lack the scale necessary to attract significant resources. PowerUP will help knit these initiatives into a national tapestry and jump-start a crusade that can change the lives of millions of kids, bringing together an unprecedented combination of people, skills and resources.

"PowerUP offers us the opportunity to make dramatic progress in establishing consistent, quality-oriented methods and resources to ensure that technology centres and programs across the country share a common standard of excellence in driving positive youth development," Case said. "Just as the nation made a successful commitment to ensuring that every child has access to public education starting at the age of five, we must now commit ourselves to ensuring that in the 21st century every child in America has access to technology so that no one falls behind. This mission is what PowerUP is all about."

Partnership Brings Funds, People, Skills and Resources

The PowerUP partnership brings a range of support services and resources to community centres, schools and other youth service locations around the country:

* National Benefactors - National benefactors of PowerUP include the CaseFoundation, the Waitt Family Foundation, AOL Inc./AOL Foundation, and TheCorporation for National Service (which houses AmeriCorps*VISTA), and The
YMCA of the USA. These organisations will bring money, computers, access,interactive programming, trained staff and other community-based services on a large scale to sites across the nation:
* The Case Foundation, established by Steve and Jean Case, will provide aninitial grant of $10 million to establish PowerUP. The grant includes $5 million to cover all staff and administrative costs of the program, enabling partnership
contributions to go directly to supporting or establishing in-site programs foryouth at centers across the country. Another $5 million will provide the localcommunity grants to benefit up to 5,000 local community centres andschool-based sites nationwide.
* The Waitt Family Foundation, established by Ted and Joan Waitt and theirfamily, will supply computer hardware to PowerUP by providing 50,000 Gateway computers and Internet appliances over the next three years.
* AOL Inc./The AOL Foundation has donated its resources and staff to develop PowerUP Online, a first-of-its kind interactive programming guide built around the "five promises" that America's Promise has identified as essential for children to become successful adults. PowerUP Online aggregates valuable content and organises activities and resources in an easy-to-use format for use in grades K-12. In addition, 100,000 AOL accounts are being provided for centres that need them.
* The Corporation for National Service (AmeriCorps*VISTA) is bringing people power to PowerUP. Initially more than 400 AmeriCorps*VISTA members and others in AmeriCorps will be trained and deployed to provide dedicated, full-time mentoring and other assistance to schools, YMCAs, Boys & Girls Clubs, National Urban League centres, Save the Children "Web of Support" centres,
the U.S. Department of Education's Computer Technology Centres and 21st Century Community Learning Centres, and other community technology centres across the country.
* The YMCA of the USA will provide service-learning and positive youth
development opportunities for young people at PowerUP-supported sites, including providing a sustained presence of caring, supportive adults who regularly interact with parents and teachers in the community.
* Founding National Partners - Founding national partners who will support the program through their existing networks of community-based centres, training programs, in-kind contributions and other activities include Sun Microsystems, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Save the Children, National Urban League, Communities in Schools, Family Education Network, PowerBar Inc., and the U.S. Department of Education's Computer Technology Centres and 21st Century

Community Learning Centres

* Founding Local Sponsors - Founding local sponsors who have established pilot sites for PowerUP in their communities include Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, the Northern Virginia Technology Council, and the Case Foundation. The sites are located in San Jose, CA; Seattle, WA; Alexandria, VA; and Washington, DC. The sites are additionally supported by the YMCAs of Santa Clara Valley, Greater Seattle, and Metropolitan Washington, which provide service-learning and positive youth development opportunities.

PowerUP is a commitment to America's Promise. America's Promise - The Alliance for Youth led by General Colin Powell, is dedicated to mobilising individuals, groups and organisations from every part of American life, to build and strengthen the character and competence of our youth.