It's 4:00 on a Friday afternoon, and most high school students in Charlottesville are relaxing, recovering from their busy week. But apparently that memo didn't get around to one building on Grove Street. Inside the Connected Community Technology Center, both kids and adults concentrate in front of computers, for the most part oblivious to their surroundings.
This is no after-school assignment or detention, nor is it a mandatory program demanded of high school students. All who are working in the building are there voluntarily, seeking out this place -- established in 2000 as Computers for Kids -- to learn in their free time.
C4K began in 1998 as a voluntary movement that redistributed donated computers to kids unable to purchase their own. At the beginning, the program's outreach numbered less than 10 kids. Since then, C4K has grown into an official, non-profit organization unique to Charlottesville. The program donates computers to kids in grades seven through 12 from the Charlottesville and Albemarle counties, and provides mentoring services as well. And with 125 active student members and up to 10 new members added by the month, C4K is expanding rapidly.
Strategically located within walking distance of Buford Middle School, C4K fills up soon after the school's dismissal bell rings, C4K Executive Director Kala Somerville said. Students arrive after busy schooldays, ready to work on their computer skills with their mentors. Eventually they will carry away both a free computer and basic technology skills from the program.
"The kids are here because they want to be here," Somerville said. "We've tried to create an atmosphere where it's their place, like a club."
Somerville explained how kids first receive a one-week training session to orient them with the computers, after which they are paired with a mentor, who they work with for one hour a week. After four to six weeks, the kids receive a free computer that C4K has refurbished for them. They then continue to work for at least 30 to 40 more hours with the mentor, which can take up to 10 months.
"We wanted to give them the computer before they graduate so that one, they can do their homework, and also so they can practice what they're learning," Somerville said.
While the kids learn skills from their older mentors, the mentors have much to gain from the kids, Somerville said.
"I find mentors get as much out of this program as the kids," she said. "I think it's a unique program because it brings together groups who otherwise might not cross paths."
While most of the machines are old computers donated by individuals and businesses in Charlottesville, C4K finds many of its mentors at the University.
Second-year Engineering student Louis Torkornoo is one of these mentors -- volunteering two hours a week to help his young buddy, an eighth-grader named Koffi, in computers as well as other subjects.
"I have been working with kids for a long time," Torkornoo said. "Work," he corrected himself, laughing, "More like had fun volunteering."
Aspiring to be a teacher, Torkornoo said most of his activities at the University revolve around kids -- including C4K.
Torkornoo found a "tough kid" in Koffi, one who he had to work patiently with, but who he also has much in common -- playing soccer and speaking the same African language.
"Let's just say he's not a very enthusiastic kid sometimes. So I have to talk him into it, which takes half an hour, sometimes an hour," Torkornoo said. "But now that's not the case. He's getting really used to me, and we work the whole time."
Koffi, who received his free computer from C4K last year, is working on a PowerPoint project about soccer with Torkornoo, as well as building his own Web site.
Torkornoo described his relationship with Koffi as a "family connection," saying he has visited Koffi's house several times and installed the Windows program on Koffi's computer.
"His family is really good to me," Torkornoo said. "He sees me as an older brother, he compares me to them."
Koffi's experience at C4K is similar to that of many kids that pass through the program, according to Somerville. The computer Koffi now uses at home is the family's first computer, which Somerville said is most often the case.
"What I think is interesting about C4K is that, even though one youth is in here, an entire family benefits from the program," Somerville said. "For most kids, the computer they receive from C4K is the first computer they've had in the household. The child goes home and teaches others the skills they've been learning."
These skills are acquired through projects the kids and their mentors plan together, which give them an opportunity to use computer applications in areas of interest.
Third-year Engineering student and C4K volunteer Travis Markley is currently working with his eighth-grade mentee, Jerod, on making a movie. The film stars Jerod's two cousins, who did a step routine during their visit to C4K. Filmed by Jerod on a digital camera, the movie will be complete with MTV-style intros to clips.
In response to Jerod's interest in cameras, Markley and Jerod often take pictures with the digital camera during their breaks. On one occasion, Jerod filmed the entire C4K facility for fun, embellishing his tour with interview questions Markley had him write up.
Another day that the pair digressed from bigger projects, Markley helped Jerod research online for cell phones. Together they wrote up the information for Jerod's mom -- soon after, Jerod arrived at C4K with his very own cell phone, the model he had liked best of all the ones researched.
Graduate Education student Tyrette Carter, a lab assistant at C4K, said she has noticed that, regardless of the project, each meeting between a mentor and mentee is about an exchange of knowledge. With five years of experience teaching middle and high school, Carter is accustomed to teacher-student interactions, but she finds C4K unique for its focus on technology.
"The difference here is the main focus is technology and bridging the gap between those who know and those who don't know -- those who have technology and know how to use it, and those who don't," Carter said.
In observing the development of the students, Carter said she is impressed by how far many of them have come.
"When I first started I couldn't believe that there were kids at that stage who couldn't turn on the computer or access the Internet," Carter said. "Some of the projects [presented at graduation time] are so amazing -- in 36 hours, they've completed something."
Somerville, who has witnessed these developments often in her years at C4K, said she hopes that C4K's opportunities are only the beginning for the community's youth.
"At this age, the more you can expose the kids to, the more opportunity, career choices they'll have," Somerville said. "What's nice about Charlottesville is that there's a finite number of people who need this service. And we feel we can really make an impact on those numbers"
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