COLLABORATING WITH PARTNERS TO MEET UNIQUE NEEDS
“I am confident that our partnership with Community Tech Network will improve the quality of life for our seniors, both physically and mentally, in this challenging time. I feel honored to be part of this amazing team to help our seniors and expand this opportunity to the community.” — Tina Huang, client advocate at Glide.
Community is central to CTN’s name and mission. We recognize that building a more equitable and inclusive digital world requires working together with like-minded organizations and volunteers. As we collaborate with new partners, we continually seek to adapt our programming to best meet the needs of each community we reach.
In partnership with Compass Family Services, CTN is working with low-income families to provide digital skills to English- and Spanish-speaking learners. Having basic digital skills is essential to finding a job or housing, doing well in school, taking a GED test, communicating with healthcare and social service providers, finding critical health information, locating needed services, and reducing isolation. Through virtual group classes, CTN instructor Carlos Sivira trains Compass clients on the foundations of digital literacy; media literacy and privacy settings; and best practices for digital parenting and family technology use.
Together with UCSF Mount Zion’s Telehealth Training for Older Patients (TTOP) program, CTN assisted a small team at UCSF to provide telehealth outreach and training to patients aged 50+. Throughout this partnership, CTN’s Josie Boyle called telemedicine patients and ensured that they were ready for their video visits — providing training as needed and conducting test calls on Zoom.
Many of our partners support our work by referring their clients to our Home Connect program. This helps us ensure that participants entering the program are (1) eager to learn and (2) have the support necessary to get started. One of newest Home Connect referral sources, Glide, has recruited and referred upwards of 50 senior learners to the program — the majority of whom speak Mandarin or Cantonese. These learners are quickly working through the Home Connect curriculum, and many hope to continue their digital education with a volunteer digital coach.
None of this work would be possible without our incredible partners. Whether they are senior centers or housing developments, advocacy groups or hospitals, our partners are crucial collaborators in expanding digital literacy to all people — no matter their age, language, or income level.
COMMUNITY TECH NETWORK SPOTLIGHT
STAFF: JANNETTE ESTRADA
CTN’s bilingual digital literacy Instructor Jannette ensures her learners’ success by using creative and relatable examples to illustrate technical concepts. She is enthusiastic about empowering communities through technology and strives to make learning accessible for all. Check out Jannette’s digital literacy journey.
VOLUNTEER: JASPER HUA
“The most rewarding part is seeing the learner’s digital fluency increase after just a few lessons,” says volunteer digital coach Jasper Hua. “In the beginning, they didn’t know how to pull up anything on a tablet. But now, I’ll tell them what they need to do, and they automatically know. I find that to be the most satisfying part.” Read about Jasper’s experience teaching Mandarin- and Cantonese-speaking learners.
FUNDER: KEN JACKSON
“I felt that even though I was leaving the corporate world, I still wanted to find a way to be involved in the community,” reflects Ken Jackson, one of CTN’s valued donors. Read how Ken got involved with CTN, first as a volunteer and now as a donor.
CTN’S KAMI GRIFFITHS PARTICIPATES IN PANEL DISCUSSION: THE ROAD TO A DIGITAL-FIRST SAN FRANCISCO
In a recent webinar, sf.citi executive director Jennifer Stojkovic spoke with local leaders about the current state of the digital divide in San Francisco. As the nonprofit leader on the panel, Kami Griffiths offered unique insight on how to address the digital divide beyond internet access and infrastructure. Check out the live recording or read our recap on the blog.
Comments are closed.