| L.A. Launch
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at CFY’s L.A. launch. |
CFY-Los Angeles has served its first school! More than 250 families from El Sereno Middle School participated in Family Learning Workshops held on March 7, 14 and 21.
Antonio Villaraigosa, the Mayor of Los Angeles, spoke to families at the March 14 workshop, saying "I would like to thank Computers for Youth for their efforts… Computers are very important to the learning process—very important." He then asked the parents to spend time helping their children with schoolwork and insist that they study everyday.
Erika Enriquez, a parent from El Sereno said, "It was great, because not only were we given a computer, but we were also taught the programs so that we could help our children with them."
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Good Reads
 CFY has partnered with Tikatok, a leading online children’s book community, to make this year’s Parent of the Year Award especially exciting.
Students nominating their parents (or any other adults that learn with them) will write nomination stories on Tikatok’s website and Tikatok will then publish them in book form. "The writing contest is a fun and important way for children to express their excitement for learning and pay tribute to their most important learning partners—their parents," said CFY’s CEO Elisabeth Stock. "By collaborating with Tikatok, we can publish these creative works into real books that children can share with their friends and family, and reinforce the idea that learning is a family affair."
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NYC Council Member Robert Jackson at the Family Learning workshop at MS 324.
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What's happening in New York City
CFY-New York City conducted a new two-hour Introductory Teacher Workshop for 455 teachers at 16 partner schools so far this year.
The workshop strengthens the home-school connection by helping teachers incorporate CFY’s award winning educational software into lessons and assignments after their students have participated in CFY’s Take IT Home program.
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CFY-New York City also held three Internet Safety Workshops, serving more than 50 families in Brooklyn and Queens. |
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| News from Philadelphia
On January 31, CFY-Philadelphia served over 110 families at Harding Middle School with the help of more than 20 volunteers from Keystone Mercy Health Plan.
Last month CFY-Philadelphia was accepted as a United Way Donor Agency. As a result, workplace donors can direct some or all of their charitable gifts to CFY through United Way’s Donor Choice program.
If your employer offers the opportunity to make gifts through the Donor Choice Program, your designation of "CFY-Philadelphia" (Code #47887) will help Philadelphia students do better in school by improving their learning environment at home. For more information, please contact Medina Rashid at mrashid@cfy.org.
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Atlanta Update
In Their Own Words:
Jailene Hidalgo, student
"I don’t like the programs your organization installed on the computer—I love them!… I wish I could give something back, but I don’t have cards for all of your employees." |
CFY-Atlanta has partnered with Louise Radloff Middle School—its first school in Gwinnett County. The first Family Learning Workshop there on March 21 was a great success.
Since October CFY-Atlanta has served more than 640 families and will reach 900 by the end of May. |
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What's new in the San Francisco Bay Area
CFY-San Francisco Bay Area has begun a new pilot program which lends easy-to-use digital video cameras to students, and asks them to film the impact of their home learning centers on themselves and their families.
Thanks to a partnership with AT&T and another non-profit, CFY-San Francisco Bay area has been able offer families free high-speed DSL internet access for the next two years. |
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| Donor Appreciation
CFY was awarded almost $400,000 from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation to help build a "home learning sector." We are very grateful for the Kellogg Foundation’s generosity, as it will help us deepen the impact of our work and attract other large national funders. Thank you W.K. Kellogg Foundation!
CFY needs more than 4,500 computers!
Is your company or organization interested in donating computers to CFY? CFY accepts donations of 30 or more complete computer systems (CPU and monitor) at a time. Donations to CFY, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, are tax-deductible to the extent allowable by law. Contact Louis Edwards at ledwards@cfy.org for more information. |
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| Affiliate Network Update
 The Digital Divide Initiative in Minneapolis, Minnesota recently held an event at which families received CFY’s educational software package.
Ken Nelson, Program Supervisor of the Digital Divide Initiative, said "Adding software that's been tested by students and educators exponentially increases the value of the hardware we distribute. By being in CFY's Affiliate Network we can provide a great software package to our families for just $5 per computer, which ordinarily would have cost us $100."
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