Dickenson County Computer Assistance Project (CAP)

The Kiwanis Club of Clinchco and Kiwanis Club of Clintwood are excited to announce that they have partnered with the Dickenson County School System, the Dickenson County Department of Social Services and ATD Fourth World to provide computer training and donations of computers to families in financial need. During the early stages of our current pandemic when schools were compelled to perform their classwork virtually several local Kiwanians realized that there was a need for a special project to assist local needy families in obtaining better computer set-ups for their young learners. What began as an idea, with a few local donations, has now come to fruition as a full-fledged learning concept involving multiple community participants.
In the fall of 2020 these two Kiwanis clubs were using the Clintwood location for collection of the first round of computer donations. An article in the Dickenson Star had introduced the public to the CAP project and several computers were donated from various community members and from the Town of Haysi. Also at this same time a formal appeal was made to the Dickenson County School Board to see if they had surplus computer equipment that could be donated. As the possibilities for many donations grew it was obvious that a more permanent base location was needed, especially since the Kiwanis Club of Clintwood would want their building available for meetings and rentals once the pandemic restrictions ended. In February, a solution was found when Selena Culbertson, Volunteer and National Board of Director Member of ATD Fourth World, proposed seeking approval to use their location as a storage and training location. The Board of Directors for Fourth World were pleased to approve use of the Co-Op Learning Center and subsequently both clubs have spent this month arranging, cleaning, and organizing the donated equipment, with the Dickenson County Litter Control taking the surplus equipment that is no longer usable and transporting for recycling.

On the first of April, the CAP program will begin accepting students who will be instructed on the integral composition of computers and how to perform the software upgrades that will be necessary prior to donation to area youth. These upgrades will include new hard drives and Windows 10. The finished computer set-ups will be delivered to Dickenson County Department of Social Services for distribution. DCDSS will identify the youth most in need and will coordinate all deliveries. The identities of the receiving youth and families will be kept confidential, so they will also be the liaison with Kiwanis regarding future upgrades, etc.

The Kiwanis Club of Clintwood and Kiwanis Club of Clinchco want to take this opportunity to announce the launch of their CAP project but to also thank the various organizations that have enabled this project to happen. Of particular importance is the partnership with ATD Fourth World and the use of their facilities. Fourth World first arrived in our area in 1995 and one of their first projects was to offer basic computer classes to adults. Their Learning Co-Op on Reedy Ridge was created in 2009 and over the years has offered introductory classes in robotics and solar energy and is currently the active location for a quilting group. The mission of ATD Fourth World is to advocate to overcome the injustices of persistent poverty and social exclusion by bringing together people from all walks of life, learning from people who face poverty every day and running family and community projects.
Individuals interested in becoming a student or joining Kiwanis should send an email to ClintwoodKiwanis419@gmail.com with their contact information. To learn more about Kiwanis activities please visit the district website at http://www.capital.kiwanisone.org/ , or contact a local Kiwanis Club member. Each club warmly welcomes anyone interested in joining an active service organization that is dedicated to improving the world one child and one community at a time.