Boys and Girls Club going high tech


 

Hundreds of children are learning how to navigate Microsoft and research homework online, thanks to the “Club Tech” after-school program at the John Avery Boys and Girls Club in Durham.

“This is tremendous in that many kids that we see still don’t have computers at home, or computers that are connected to the internet,” Unit Director Greg Greene said.

The program introduces children to technology with help from MaxPoint, a digital advertising company that donated $15,600 last year to support a computer literacy program at the Boys and Girls Club.

“Volunteering our time with the Boys & Girls Club is our way of giving back while also helping to create the next generation of the Triangle’s tech community,” MaxPoint CEO Joe Epperson said in a statement.

Last year more than 100 volunteers from his company refurbished the Club by cleaning storage rooms, making repairs and installing carpet. They also supplied furniture, pool tables, a flat screen television, and printers. The company also donated 50 bicycles as Christmas gifts two years ago.

“Though we have a wonderful building that we are more than happy to have, it is an older structure, so for MaxPoint to come in and enhance almost every inch our building was amazing,” Greene said. Students now have computer labs and a separate space for reading and homework, he added.

The Boys & Girls Club will honor MaxPoint and other donors and volunteers in October at the Club’s 75th anniversary gala.

“Our donors are important because as a community organization, they are who keep our doors open,” Greene said. “Consistent support from donors provides long term sustainability for our organization.”