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Mr. Kenyada's Neighborhood V O L U N T E E R S PCs TO THE PEOPLE | HOME | SENIORS COMPUTER WORKSHOP | SENIORS' COMMENTS
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MKN, our Volunteers are very special people. They have to be, because
they do very special work. For that reason, we cannot accept all of
those who wish to volunteer. Though we appreciate the effort of anyone
who inquires about our volunteer program, we are looking for people who
are motivated to help others in general, seniors in particular.
If you are looking to volunteer because you need school credits, or you must fulfill a court-ordered community service commitment, MKN is not for you. If you wish to volunteer because you've heard volunteerism will make you a better person, please look elsewhere. Please understand that this is not about YOU. It's about your grandparents, our aunts and uncles; it's about older people who are learning something totally new and foreign to them. As part of our PCs to the People program, MKN teaches basic computer skills to seniors, many of whom have never touched a computer before in their lives. They have avoided computers this long for one reason or another. And even though they have signed up for the workshop, many of them come through the door petrified. It's up to our volunteers to handle the seniors with TLC (Technical Loving Care). The seniors’ computer workshop has been a perennial success since its inception in 1999. Our success with seniors can be directly attributed to the fact that before launching the workshops, we conducted extensive interviews with community seniors at shopping malls, as well as senior centers. We wanted to know about their specific fears and reservations about the new technology. This research resulted in the design of a curriculum that combines computer training with a nurturing environment, which dictates the pace and mood of the workshops. During the course of the six-hour workshop, our volunteers work to win over the confidence of the seniors. Our classes are usually small (less than 12 people) and we try to accommodate our seniors with one-on-one attention. After reading the above, if you still feel compelled to volunteer with MKN, please call 770-981-8065 to register. Our workshops are currently on HOLD as we look for a new facility in which to conduct them. We expect to resume our Seniors Workshop by Fall, 2004. |
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PCs TO THE PEOPLE | HOME | SENIORS COMPUTER WORKSHOP | SENIORS' COMMENTS |