Knight Center of Digital Excellence Partners with 10 U.S. Communities, Top Experts to Seek Stimulus Funding for Broadband Awareness, Training and Adoption Initiative

    AKRON, OH, September 02, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Knight Center of Digital Excellence today announced details of its Sustainable Broadband Adoption stimulus proposal - "Connect Your Community" (CYC). The Knight Center, along with the nation's top digital adoption experts, proposes CYC to engage, train, equip, and support new broadband users in ten communities: Aberdeen, S.D.; Akron, Ohio; Biloxi/Gulfport, Miss.; Bradenton, Fla.; Cleveland, Ohio; Detroit, Mich.; Lexington, Ky.; Miami, Fla.; St. Paul, Minn.; and Zanesville, Ohio.

Connect Your Community would directly help more than 38,000 disadvantaged households benefit from Internet access through a high-touch, community-based, replicable approach. The program would include digital literacy training and support, creating about 136 direct jobs while generating another 50 indirect positions. The Knight Center has partnered with community agencies such as urban leagues, libraries, educational institutions, economic development groups, and health and human services organizations that would carry out the work in each targeted region.

National collaborators that would support key aspects of CYC include the Benton Foundation, the Alliance for Community Media, PBS, PC Rebuilders and Recyclers, TechSoup, Angela Siefer of ShinyDoor, Jim Baller of Baller Herbst Law Group, and Karen Peltz Strauss of KPS Consulting. Dr. Kate Williams, Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois, a leading authority on program evaluation, would design evaluation methods for the project.

"The Knight Center of Digital Excellence was founded to serve as a resource to help communities leverage broadband access to create economic opportunities and bridge the digital divide," said Scot Rourke, CEO of the Knight Center. "Along with our local and national partners, we believe that the Connect Your Community program can serve as a national model for broadband awareness and adoption."

The Knight Center of Digital Excellence serves 26 U.S. communities and is operated by Cleveland-based technology non-profit OneCommunity, in partnership with The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The organization is dedicated to creating connected communities by utilizing information technologies to drive civic progress and economic development. For further information please contact Doug Adams at 216.923.2256 or by email at [email protected].

Website: http://www.knightcenter.org

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