Beaverton Police Activites League And Salvation Army Moore Street Corps Community Center Selected To Join Worldwide Network Of Intel Computer Clubhouses

Technology Centers for Underserved Youth Aim to Build Skills, Ideas and Confidence

BEAVERTON, Ore., August 2, 2000 - Aiming to make technology accessible to all communities, the Intel Oregon site today selected the Beaverton Police Activities League (PAL) and the Salvation Army Moore Street Corps and Community Center in North Portland to join a worldwide network of Intel Computer Clubhouses that will provide underserved youth with access to high-end technology, industry mentors, and practical skills. Each organization will receive more than $200,000 in cash, furniture and equipment as part of the Clubhouse grant.

"We can't wait to get our Clubhouse up and running," says Jill Showalter, PAL executive director. "The city of Beaverton has changed dramatically over the past decade and it has become a much more diverse community. As this change has occurred, we have also found a growing population of youth who have gone under served due to their economic situation or cultural background."

Twenty five percent of the students in the Beaverton School District currently qualify for free or reduced meals at school under Federal guidelines for supporting low-income families. At Vose Elementary, one of the closest school's to the PAL center, more than 65% of the students qualify for the federal free lunch program.

"The Intel Computer Clubhouse grant will allow PAL to play a much larger role in serving these youth." says Showalter. "The Clubhouse is going to fill a major void for these kids who don't have access to a lot of things including technology."

The Salvation Army Moore Street Corps and Community Center is located in North Portland where a large percentage of the residents also fall in the low-income category. "We're really excited about being able to add the Intel Computer Clubhouse Network to the Center's program menu, says Capt. Doug Riley, center administrator. "We recognize that without access to technology our youth and their families are at risk of losing their ability to participate fully in the community, in education, in civic life and the workplace. In partnering with Intel as a Clubhouse Network member, we will bridge the technology gap that many young people and families find themselves in and provide an opportunity to design, create and produce their own projects so that they can succeed in our technological age."

Intel Aims to Proliferate Proven Learning Model
Launched in February 2000 by Intel Corporation--in cooperation with the Museum of Science, Boston, the museum's award-winning Computer Clubhouse, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab--the Intel Computer Clubhouse Network is both a physical location and proven, successful learning model. By 2005, 100 Intel Computer Clubhouses will open around the world touching the lives of more than 50,000 young people.

The Intel Computer Clubhouse Network provides a safe, creative after-school environment where young people from underserved communities work closely with adult mentors to explore their own ideas, develop skills, and build confidence through the use of technology. The Clubhouse model is based on: supporting learning through design experiences; helping youth build on their own interests; cultivating an emergent community; and, creating an environment of respect and trust. Intel's goal is to establish it as a replicable model for technology learning.

In this "invention workshop," Clubhouse youth, aged 8 to 18, express themselves through projects based on their own interests to become designers, not just consumers, of technology. Using professional-level equipment, youth can create computer-generated art, music and video; develop scientific simulations; design their own animations; build kinetic sculptures and robots; develop their own Web pages; and program their own computer games. Adult mentors serve as role models and support Clubhouse members' self-directed explorations.

Program Aims To Build Capacity For Global Model Of Technology Learning
Intel will provide financial, technical, career, and volunteer mentor support to proliferate the Intel Computer Clubhouse Network globally. In addition to equipment donations, a team of Intel professionals will work with the Clubhouse to install the technology and networking capability to link Clubhouse youth around the world and provide technical training to Clubhouse staff and members. Intel will invest $20 million dollars over the next five years. This includes funding for Intel-sponsored Computer Clubhouses and funding for the Museum of Science, Boston and MIT Media Lab to maintain and build capacity for the Intel Computer Clubhouse Network.

Companies Join Intel and Contribute High-End Hardware, Software and Infrastructure First-year start up costs for each Clubhouse is approximately $200,000, which includes support from Adobe Systems, Covad Communications, Hewlett-Packard, Macromedia, and Autodesk, Inc. Additional support has been received from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the LEGO® Company. Covad Communications will provide DSL Internet access to the Clubhouse Network. Hewlett-Packard will support the first round of Clubhouses through a generous donation of desktop PCs, printers, scanners and digital cameras. In addition, HP employees will serve as Clubhouse mentors, and provide a secondary technology support resource. ATAS has agreed to provide mentors from its ranks of entertainment executives and artists, and to support internships in the telecommunications industry. Additionally, the LEGO® Company will supply MINDSTORMS™ kits to all 100 Clubhouses, enabling youth to build robots and other interactive constructions.

Intel Innovation in Education
The Intel Computer Clubhouse Network is a key program of the Intel Innovation in Education initiative, a global, multi-million dollar effort to help realize the possibilities of science and technology in education. Intel develops and supports education programs that help meet the needs of students and communities worldwide through improving science, math, engineering and technology education; improving education through the effective use of technology in classrooms; and broadening access to technology and technical careers. For more information, please visit www.intel.com/education.

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