Employees of Google, the Silicon Valley internet giant, are crossing the chasm to help their Bay Area neighbors by hosting a Neighborhood Computer Help Day in San Francisco’s Tenderloin. On Thursday, June 11th, from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., Google employees will be volunteering to teach classes and do one-on-one tutoring with homeless and economically challenged participants of the Tenderloin Tech Lab, a collaboration between St. Anthony Foundation and Network Ministries. This is reflective of the trend that St. Anthony Foundation volunteer program is seeing, of more and more technologically savvy Bay Area residents reaching out to share their skills with the disenfranchised.

“Today’s economic crisis is running counterpoint to the technological crisis in areas like the Tenderloin, where the decreasing number of resources and services are forcing people to be more savvy about their survival. Technological access is proving to be the unlikely thread that is holding marginalized people together by connecting them to information, services, and each other,” noted Karl Robillard, Manager, of St. Anthony Foundation’s Employment Program & Technology Lab. “The interesting thing is that as the technological literacy of the poor and marginalized community is increasing, so is the interest in skilled technology volunteers, such as the employees of Google. This parallel reflects an unprecedented possibility of a narrowing technological chasm in the face of bleak economic times. That in and of itself is remarkable.”

ST. ANTHONY FOUNDATION

Since 1950 St. Anthony Foundation has addressed root causes of poverty with compassion. St. Anthony Foundation’s programs offer gateways to escaping poverty by addressing immediate needs such as hunger and clothing, as well as long term needs such as employment, drug and alcohol addiction, and physical and mental health. St. Anthony Foundation does not accept any federal, state, or local government money, and is entirely funded by private donations.

WHEN: Thursday, June 11th, 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.

WHAT: Google’s Technology Day in the Tenderloin

WHERE: Tenderloin Tech Lab, 150 Golden Gate Ave @ Leavenworth, 3rd Floor, San Francisco

Tags: computers, corporations, google, network ministries, tenderloin, tenderloin tech lab, volunteering

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 10th, 2009 at 9:28 am and is filed under News, Programs & Services. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.