 |
 |
October 30, 2002 A Lack of Money Forces Computer Initiative to Close By JOHN SCHWARTZ THE NEW YORK TIMES http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/30/technology/30POWE.html?todaysheadlines When Stephen M. Case, then the chairman of America Online, and many other high-technology executives announced an initiative called PowerUP less than three years ago, they said that their donated millions would help bridge the "digital divide" between rich and poor. "We must take steps now so that in the Internet century, no children are left behind," Mr. Case said. But tomorrow , with nearly 1,000 community-based technology centers financed across the country, the national offices of PowerUp will close and the centers will be left to fend for - and finance - themselves. Other groups, including the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, will keep many of the centers open with local financing, and many other initiatives to bridge the gap between the techno-haves and have-nots survive. Those familiar with the fizzle of the once-promising project say it is a disheartening side effect of the stock market slump. A spokeswoman for PowerUP, Denise Keyes, said, "It was never the intention for this to go on" indefinitely, and that the centers were always supposed to become self-sustaining. "This seems like a natural transition time," she said. Over the life of the organization, total corporate and foundation donations were estimated to be as much as $100 million, said Jerry Dovalis, executive vice president of Mr. Case's Case Foundation. Mr. Case had taken a prominent role in introducing the initiative, providing $10 million in start-up money. "We recognize that there are many projects under way in communities across the nation that seek to bridge the digital divide," Mr. Case said in November 1999, "but they are fragmented and lack the scale necessary to attract significant resources. PowerUP will help knit these initiatives into a national tapestry and jump-start a crusade that can change the lives of millions of kids, bringing together an unprecedented combination of people, skills and resources." That tapestry included the Case Foundation; the Waitt Family Foundation, started by the founder of Gateway computer, Ted Waitt; the AOL Foundation; the Corporation for National Service; the National Urban League; and America's Promise, the group founded by Colin L. Powell. Corporate sponsors climbed on the bandwagon, as well: not just technology companies like Microsoft, Cisco System, Hewlett Packard and Sun Micro Systems, but als PowerBar Inc., which pledged to provide its snack bars to the centers. Mr. Dovalis hailed the start of 957 technology centers by PowerUP as "historic." He said, however, that the organization was a creature of its times - the high-flying days when dot-com parking lots were chockful of Boxsters and portfolios were flush. "The model that was launched in late 1999 and began taking flesh and form in January of 2000 was a model that had its bloodlines in different economic times," he said. "The model isn't necessarily the best one for these economic times." Some experts in bringing technology tools to the poor said that there were problems from the start. Larry Irving, a former Clinton administration official who was a prominent strategist in digital divide efforts, called PowerUP a " McDonald's-style, top-down franchise operation," which he said is not the best method for community development. "I've been in this area for about 10 years - the one thing we've learned is local efforts work best," he said. Ultimately, the tapestry unraveled. "It's a partnership," said one executive involved with PowerUP. "It was never supposed to be one person at the banquet table saying month after month `Here's the check.' " Many groups are still providing technology services to the poor and disadvantaged, with programs financed by AOLTime Warner, Intel, Microsoft, Gateway and others, and by groups such as CTCnet, a grassroots national network of community technology centers. To Mr. Irving, "there's still a need out there" for such programs. Although they are scrambling for backing, those who maintain the PowerUP sites say they are grateful. "It was an absolute blessing for us," said Robbie Callaway, the senior vice president of Boys and Girls Clubs of America, which runs 434 PowerUp sites within its clubs. At the Cowan Community Center in Whitesburg, Ky., the coordinator, Stacy Dollarhyde, said of the 10-computer site that PowerUP built for them, "There's going to be challenges, definitely, to keep it up and running." But Ms. Dollarhyde, whose building had an electrical fire yesterday that forced her to send the HeadStart students home while things aired out, said adversity is not a stranger. "We're in Appalachia," she said. "You kind of have to take what you get and be thankful for it, and build on that." ************************************************************************************ Distributed through Cyber-Society-Live [CSL]: CSL is a moderated discussion list made up of people who are interested in the interdisciplinary academic study of Cyber Society in all its manifestations.To join the list please visit: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/cyber-society-live.html *************************************************************************************