HandyCapable Network, Inc.
Website:
http://www.handycapable.org/ Location:
GSO, NC
To thrive in today’s world, everyone deserves the opportunity to take advantage of the accessibility that technology affords us. Unfortunately, for low-income families and individuals with disabilities, these opportunities and often difficult to come by.
Handy Capable Network (HCN) assists these individuals, as well as local nonprofit organizations, in accessing technology that had previously been beyond their reach. HCN trains adults with disabilities in the skills necessary to use and repair computers. We strive to create an environment where disabled individuals can learn valuable computer skills, gain self-esteem, and encourage personal growth and independence. For low-income families who do not have access to computer technology at home, we provide them with free or low-cost refurbished computers, and the requisite educational information to fully utilize these exciting tools.
In order for HandyCapable to carry out its mission of helping socioeconomically challenged or developmentally disabled individuals to cross the digital divide, we depend on donations of used computers from individuals and businesses in the community. To learn how you can help, please click here!
As a Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher, HCN installs Microsoft Windows on all of our refurbished computers. Additionally, we format all donated computers to the security standards used by the US Dept. of Defense.
Supported Projects
Computer Distribution Coordinator
Nathan Badera
7/2008 — 7/2009
HandyCapable Network promotes self-sufficiency and enriches the lives of people with disabilities or people who are otherwise socially or economically challenged by providing training in and access to computer technology.
Marketing
1. Develop partnerships to receive donations of computers for refurbishing.
2. Develop ways to distribute computers beyond the needs of new CLCs established by HCN. For instance, building on current relationships with social service non-profits to put computers in homes of low-income families; explore computers for after school programs; provide computers for non-profit office use.
3.Develop a marketing and public relations plan and implement that plan toward the goals of community awareness, gaining financial support and computer donations. Plan to include print, radio, tv media, and website and other online options.
4. Develop or revise marketing materials to support both of these efforts including: 1) letters to potential computer donors; 2) Project description/brochure; 3) Edit and distribute two newsletters for the program as a support to marketing and fundraising efforts.
Fundraising
1. Develop a one hour “tour” program, and host visitors monthly.
2. Develop corporate partnerships that include computer and/or financial donations.
3. Further develop the supporter database to track donations, and to ease communications by letter and email with supporters.
4. Develop an acknowledgment plan to thank donors and recognize donations.
5. Coordinate one or two fundraising events.
Project Coordination Assistance
1. Assist in managing the computer distribution for one or more major projects, including the distribution of computers to 7th grade students at Hairston Middle School in 2007-08.
Nate developed at least 5 partnerships with various businesses on his own and many smaller individual donors. These connections continue to provide ongoing computers for HCN.
He also negotiated a 200 computer purchase at a very nominal fee, picked them up, loaded and unloaded them, and found a place to have them stored.
Nate revised brochures, and a variety of new donor letters, flyers were completed.
He submitted a grant application to Leadership Greensboro which resulted in a team of four local business leaders to help him develop a marketing package, a promotional DVD (still in the works), a lead database and 3 large computer donors. One donor at a local hospital brings 25-40 computers a month.
Nate was especially successful with media through press releases, resulting in TV news coverage three times (videos on our website), one school distribution had 3 local channels show up to cover it. Another grant he submitted to a Create-A-Thon, a local marketing firm, has resulted in a large banner for use at events. It came in very handy and was used 4 times during Nate’s service.
He was instrumental in making many updates, changes and fine tuning our website. He developed the Virtual Tour and has agreed to continue to keep the HCN website fresh and up to date. Nate coordinated all computer distributions which included 71 to the families at Hairston Middle School, 77 to Newcomers School (all immigrants from 8 different countries), 60 to another local immigrant community and sometimes with the help of the Executive Director but often on his own he delivered 50 computers to Group homes (for adults with disabilities) throughout the state of NC. These distributions are very time- and staff intensive; having a Vista take the majority of the responsibility helped other staff to do their respective jobs more effectively. Just before he left, Nate submitted a grant for $30,000 for another local school distribution. We recently received the letter stating we were awarded $25,000.
We have a great website, new ongoing partners, so many computers we have to store them off site, new relationships, an inventory database that makes life easier and some big shoes to fill. (We offered Nate a job, but he declined). We are sustaining Nate’s work by hiring the previous Vista, Anna Simanovitch, in a part time Admin. Assistant role. We have also worked out a consulting contract with Nate to continue web updates, write grants, help complete the Annual Report and in many other ways we we may need to use his expertise and knowledge of our organization .
Outreach Coordinator
Anna Simanovich
8/2007 — 8/2008
HandyCapable Network (HCN)was started as a project of Arc of North Carolina Housing Development Services. The project started by establishing Computer Learning Centers (CLCs) for developmentally disabled adults. Four years later, HCN and local partner agencies, have established 22 centers in central North Carolina that serve adults with a broad spectrum of disabilities.
In addition, HCN provides computers and technical support for nonprofits for their administrative computers. We work together with NetCorps who will help an organization plan their technology needs. HCN supplies and sets up computers and office networking.
The HCN Americorps/Vista volunteer will have these responsibilities that will build the capacity of HCN to support the centers it has established for partner agencies, and to provide refurbished computers to disenfranchised populations. A key focus will be activities to maintain an incoming flow of donated computers and distribution of refurbished computers to end users, as well as resource development to cover refurbishing costs.
Marketing
1. Develop partnerships to receive donations of computers for refurbishing.
2. Develop ways to distribute computers beyond the needs of new CLCs established by HCN. For instance, building on current relationships with social service non-profits to put computers in homes of low-income families; explore computers for after school programs; provide computers for non-profit office use.
3.Develop a marketing and public relations plan and implement the plan toward the goals of community awareness, gaining financial support and computer donations. Plan to include print, radio, tv media, and website and other online options.
4. Develop or revise marketing materials to support both of these efforts including: 1) letters to potential computer donors; 2) Project description/brochure; 3) Edit and distribute two newsletters for the program as a support to marketing and fundraising efforts.
Fundraising
1. Develop a one hour “tour” program, and host visitors monthly.
2. Develop corporate partnerships that include computer and/or financial donations.
3. Further develop the supporter database to track donations, and to ease communications by letter and email with supporters.
4. Develop an acknowledgment plan to thank donors and recognize donations.
5. Coordinate one or two fundraising events.
Project Coordination Assistance
1. Assist in managing the computer distribution for one or more major projects, including the distribution of computers to 7th grade students at Hairston Middle School in 2007-08. Also, with the community networking project if funding is acquired. Specific role to be determined but may include managing registration and logistics for required training classes, assisting in the classes, assisting in distributing the computers and in distributing and collecting follow up evaluation surveys.
Support Computer Learning Centers
1. Maintain quarterly contact to stay apprised of the CLCS use and needs.
2. Coordinate an annual educational workshop for the staff and sponsors of CLCs to gain further knowledge for making the best use of the centers.
3. Develop online communication between the computer learning centers, such as a list serve.
Anna took complete responsibility for the annual appeal letter in April, using the over 400 names entered into the new Exceed database which was completed by then. She was responsible for tracking the donations and sending out the thank you notes. Over $5,000 was raised for HCN.
She developed an ongoing partnership with Earth Fare, a local organic supermarket, where our first Community Recycling Event was held in the spring. It was covered by the a local TV channel and the newspaper. Over 75 computers and assorted equipment were received. She helped Nate, our new Vista, with the contacts and planning for our second one held Sept 6, 7th. This has helped raise community awareness of our organization and both events have resulted in ongoing equipment donations from local businesses.
Anna single-handedly made it possible for HCN to distribute 223 computers to low income 7th and 8th graders at Hairston Middle School and 20 more to teachers with no computer in their homes. Her desire to see that every deserving child got a computer had her making trips to the school to find the children who had no phone, deliveries to the homes of those without transportation, finding Spanish interpreters to communicate with the families of the children with minimal English. She co-ordinated the transportation and then the distribution of from 20-40 computers to the school on the 6 distribution dates. I can’t say enough how much that meant not only to the staff of HCN that were busy getting the computers ready but to the children who would not have received a computer if not for Anna’s diligence.
There are many more instances where Anna’s service to HCN was above and beyond her duties, her desire to help others through HCN is a shining example of AmeriCorp Vista service. In fact she became so indispensable we have offered her a full time position. She has taken a 8-10 month sabbatical to help her father but plans on returning to us.
Fundraising and Outreach
Erica Bledsoe
9/2006 — 6/2007
The focus was fundraising, development of corporate and non profit partnerships and centralizing current database, learn and implement new donor database software.
Erica made a good start on fundraising with the development and distribution of our annual appeal letter sent in Dec. This was fairly successful for our first try and raised over $1,500. During that time she was able to pull the current databases together, add new donors and businesses. All of that was in preparation for merging into the donor management/fundraising software HandyCapable had purchased. The next large piece was the planning of the first “event” for our organization which was well on it’s way by Dec. 2006 and planned for April 2007. Erica also send out a business letter to help raise awareness of our program, the need for donated computers, volunteers and funding.
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