Community Technology Center Grand Opening

September 10th, 2011, San Diego, CA

The San Diego Futures Foundation today announced the grand opening of its Community Technology Center in the community of City Heights in San Diego.

The purpose of the CTC is to help low income San Diego residents get connected to broadband services. The Public Policy Institute of California reports more than 20% of San Diego residents do not have access to the Internet at home. Most are low-income families, disabled individuals, and seniors. SDFF assists those in need of technology at home in an effort to bridge the “digital divide.” The CTC promotes the value of technology adoption by offering training, workshops, technical support, and low-cost equipment and software.

“Technology can be confusing, expensive and frustrating.” said Jeff Hancock, Executive Director of SDFF. “Our goal is to provide a friendly, trustworthy people can visit to learn about technology in way that makes sense.” Open to the public visitors can see different kinds of technologies including tablet PCs, netbooks, and laptops, take computer classes, ask questions about technology, and learn about the Internet and Internet safety.

Qualified individuals may participate in SDFF’s San Diego Broadband Initiative, which offers additional services along with donated and low-cost computers and software. The Community Techn ology Center was established through funding support from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act within the U.S. Department of Commerce and the California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF). CETF provides leadership statewide to minimize the Digital Divide by accelerating the deployment of broadband and other advanced communication services to underserved communities and populations. Additional support was provided by the County of San Diego, Hewlett Packard and Cox Communications.

County Supervisor Ron Roberts introduces the newest addition to the San Diego Futures Foundation, the Community Technology Center.