1.) Stephen Rockwell on Life’s Next Step
2.) Washington Post Article
3.) The Beehive’s Career Coach
4.) Job Opening
5.) Re-launch of Tech Foundation’s Discounted Technology Catalog
6.) Volunteer for TechWatch!

1.) Stephen Rockwell on Life’s Next Step

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Most of you know that my last day with United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania and in Philadelphia is today. I wanted to just thank all of you who have touched my life in my 5 years in Philadelphia doing the work of community building and poverty fighting through technology and social activism.

For those of you who know Teaming for Technology well, you know that this is a good time for transition. I am so grateful to Mary Strasser hiring me four years ago as a young person coming off a year of service in Americorps. She and Diane Melley of IBM trusted me, a 23 year old kid, to start and launch an initiative from scratch. Their support, along with the support from staff and volunteers at United Way, folks from the community technology movement, and the folks we serve every day has made this an enriching and deeply moving experience. The staff of T4T have really made it happen and it has been a privilege to manage: Amy, David, Alex, Ken, Mark, Morgan, Lassain, Gary, Steve, Raphael, Lorelei, Dasheeda, Matt, Corey, Robin, and Benjamin. We have accomplished so much together and I appreciate all of your efforts.

This being said, my skills are best utilized in startup mode, but we now need solid operations management for sustained growth. Not having some of these skills is part of the reason I'm headed back to school. Mary has named Lorelei Narvaja to run the initiative and I can't think of a better person for the job. Lorelei's organizational skills are superb, her personality allows her to deal with difficult situations and people (me for example) with grace, and her drive to improve the world for the better inspires those around her. She works harder than anyone I know, with the exception of possibly Mary. Please continue to support her and the T4T staff as you have supported me.

Life's next step leads me to Boston to graduate school to do a joint MBA/MPA from MIT Sloan and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. I look forward to the educational challenges that lay ahead, but more importantly I look forward to being able to use the education to make an even greater impact on the world. For all the work that we have done together, so much more is necessary.

Many of you know I’m idealistic, perhaps too much so, but I really do believe that we can end poverty and hunger in this country and around the world. With 13 million children in the country going to bed hungry and 1.5 million children starving to death each year around the world, we need to do much more. Solving this problem is merely a matter of our collective will. I do believe that racism, ethnic tensions, homophobia, sexism must and will one day disappear. Nothing angers me more than injustice and oppression based on ignorance and hatred, whether in outward displays of turning away African Americans from voting booths in Florida, or subtle comments or hiring decisions made in board rooms and work areas each day. As a middle class, privileged white male, I have to check myself every day to ensure that my own upbringing isn't adversely affecting my work or relationships. The work of reconciliation is our shared responsibility. Finally, one day we will not go to war or use violence to solve our problems. We live in times where our country bombs now and thinks later. We must end violence, whether a family attacked by a bomb in Baghdad or a child struck by a gunshot in North Philadelphia. We must have peace in this world, but it's going to take all of us actively pursuing both within society and our own personal lives since peace begins with being at peace with yourself.

I have a deep faith in the power of all of us through political and social activism to restore and rejuvenate individuals, families, and whole communities that suffer from brokenness or oppression. In each of my college entrance essays, I referred to my favorite quote from Robert Kennedy who spoke eloquently of this faith: “It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers or energy and daring those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” I have enjoyed making waves with you - our next collective step is to change the tides of our society toward truth and justice. I look forward to taking these next steps with you as we journey through this life.

Take care,
Steve

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2.) Washington Post Article

The front page of the Washington Post for Monday, August 9 featured a powerful piece that gives national exposure to the positive change that Teaming for Technology and our partners are bringing to the underserved communities of Philadelphia. The article profiles the Cox family of West Powelton, recipients of wireless internet made available to the neighborhood by T4T and the People’s Emergency Center.
Below is an excerpt from the article.

From: Program Aids Urban Poor In Accessing The Internet

By Jonathan Krim
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, August 9, 2004; Page A01

“Under the Philadelphia program, the Cox family -- three generations of women sharing a rowhouse -- gets high-speed Internet access for $10 a month. It has changed their world.

Taah (pronounced Tay-uh) was an unfocused third-grader whose father is in jail. Her mother, Maya, who was 13 when she gave birth to Taah, was told at the time that she probably needed a kidney transplant. Theodora
Cox, at 64, faced the added uncertainty of retirement.

Eight months ago, Theodora Cox saw a flier advertising the One Economy program: enroll in an eight-week training course and then have the opportunity to buy a computer for $120 and get broadband for $10 a month. Despite a long-standing fear of computers, the retired social worker dived in.

Now Taah "is the technology director in her class," a proud Theodora Cox said. She bickers with her granddaughter about who taught who more about computers. "She's on it every day, and she teaches the other children in the neighborhood."

From their living room, Maya and her mother began research on Maya's kidney disease, corresponding with patients and medical professionals in other countries who often were more responsive than local doctors. And Theodora Cox uses the Internet to help her sell a line of candles to people in the neighborhood.”

To read the complete article, visit
www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A50706-2004Aug8?language=printe

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3.) The Beehive’s Career Coach

Women Employed (www.womenemployed.com) and the One Economy Corporation (www.one-economy.com) have partnered to bring an exciting new feature to The Beehive (www.thebeehive.org/philly). Career Coach can help you learn more about careers, choose the right career, and create a step-by-step plan to reach your goals. You can learn how to:
· Find a career and get on a career track.
· Go to school or get training.
· Build skills, contacts, and experience on the job.
· Look and apply for jobs

You can use Career Coach at every stage of your career planning. Come back to the site to check your progress, keep your resume and letters in a safe place, and make changes in your plan. Visit the Career Coach at http://www.thebeehive.org/jobs/careercoach/default.asp to find out more.

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4.) Job Opening

Director, Web Development

Contact Aisha Satterwhite at asatterwhite@one-economy.com for more information on this posting.

One Economy Corporation is dedicated to improving the standard of living of low-income people by ending their economic and social isolation. Through a home-based Internet strategy, One Economy is working with partners to provide low-income households with computers and Internet access, training and comprehensive, web-based content that expands their opportunities to make more informed decisions and build assets. Our consumer web site, www.thebeehive.org (the Beehive), is a virtual support network that helps low-income people move into the economic mainstream

The ultimate goal of the Beehive is to provide low-income people with the information and connections they need on a local level to take action to improve their lives. There are currently 19 local “Beehives” with a total of 24 projected by the end of this year. A CMS is being assessed and planned to support and scale this localization strategy. The Beehive’s content is written specifically for low-income people, in languages and at a literacy level (6th grade) that speaks to them. The Beehive's information and interactive tools focus on the things that matter most to our audience: health, jobs, money, education and family, enabling them to get a better job, find affordable child care or health insurance.

The Director of Web Development is the expert-level resource on the web team designing, specifying and developing web applications, and providing support for current products. The Director of Web Development:

Leads internal and external clients with Internet-, intranet-, or extranet-based applications, including but not limited to .net, XML, HTML, ASP, multimedia applications, database interactions and data modeling tools.

Researches, tracks and understands new web technologies to provide technical leadership in developing service applications and analyzing business requirements as they pertain to intranet and external Internet-related systems, then builds these applications using Internet and Windows Development tools.

Manages, develops, integrates and implements related applications components, including front-end development, server-side development and database integration.

Is involved in programming, maintenance, technical support, documentation and administration of the applications. The Director of Web Development writes internal/external documentation and specifications as required and reports on progress against schedules for all assigned tasks on a regular basis. The Director of Web Development is expected to be on call as needed.

This position from time to time will assist in network and technical administrative support for One Economy offices and staff.
Minimum Requirements:
General:
An interest in social change and in working in an environment dedicated to fighting poverty

5+ years of professional web development experience with industry experience in design, development, testing, and support of website and/or web applications.

Must have solid programming experience with ActiveX controls, GUI design, and database programming.

Thorough understanding of the client-server architecture with Microsoft operating systems on the front- and/or back-end is required.

Content management systems design/planning and implementation experience

Be able to lead a project-oriented development team with specific task assignments and milestones as well as manage outside development support.

Must be able to, with other teams, resolve problems in high-profile and time-constrained conditions. On occasion, will interface with customers independently, or with the assistance of team members, as the need arises.

Ability to work in fast paced environment; a positive and proactive attitude

Ability to maintain effective key business relationships with internal contacts and external clients. High comfort level with a collaborative work process and collegial working environment.

Job requires working on multiple concurrent projects. Must be able to keep work organized to meet project deadlines

Job requires strong communication skills; participation in frequent discussions and frequent preparation of written communications, such as descriptive technical and marketing support; letters; memos; and e-mail messages

Experience developing sites for multiple languages a plus
Programming:
Development Platforms/ Languages: XML, XSLT, ASP, C#, Visual Studio.NET, and IIS.

Solid experience with SQL Server (developing T-SQL, Stored Procedures, and User-defined functions etc.). [Experience with database architecture is a plus.]

Solid client-side HTML skills, VBScript, JavaScript.

Software:
Experience with Microsoft Windows 2000, XP, and Microsoft Office (Access, PowerPoint, Excel, Word, and Outlook), Microsoft SQL, and Visual Studio .NET required.

Experience with Windows NT4/2000/2003 Server in an Enterprise environment.

Education:
B.S. in Engineering, Computer Science, or other technical field.

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5.) Re-launch of Tech Foundation’s Discounted Technology Catalog

Dear Colleagues,

I would like to call to your attention the re-launch of TechFoundation's TechMarketplace catalog / website. For those who have not heard of us, TechMarketplace brings hardware, software and services to the nonprofit community at significant discounts with the mission of helping organizations leverage technology to maximize their social missions. We have come to agreements with well-known companies like Dell, PC Connection, CDW, Intranets,
SkillSoft and others to provide their entire lines at more affordable prices. Through these partnerships, nonprofits not only have access to discounts on every major brand in categories like desktops, servers, software, printers, accessories and more, but also on less mainstream (more nonprofit-specific) products and services like web development, communication applications,
data protection solutions, IT outsourcing and others. Visit www.techfoundation.org to see the online catalog. Your feedback on the new look and feel would be greatly appreciated!

You may also want to take a look at another very popular feature at TechFoundation: TechGrants
(www.techfoundation.org/techgrants). Our biweekly newsletter highlights foundations or organizations that have awarded technology grants or have indicated a specific interest in the area of technology. You can see that online or you can sign up for our newsletter by sending a blank email to subscribe@techfoundation.imakenews.net. The newest version of our newsletter is available at www.imakenews.com/techfoundation (you may also sign up there).

Any feedback on these revamped nonprofit resources would be great.

Regards,

Armando Requejo
Summer Intern
Techfoundation
arequejo@techfoundation.org

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6.) Volunteer for TechWatch!

http://vevo.verifiedvoting.org/techwatch/
Are you a technology professional interested in election integrity? A geek who believes every vote should be recorded as intended? A techie who stands for reliable and publicly verifiable election systems?

If so, TechWatch is for you!

TechWatch volunteers will receive training and participate in important non-partisan election monitoring activities, observing and documenting:

* Logic & Accuracy testing of voting technology by election officials prior to Election Day

* Poll Watching on Election Day (assigned to a single polling place or central election office)

* Election Incidents on Election Day (on dispatch from an Election
Incident Reporting system to polling places within a given county)

By applying technical expertise to mind the polls, TechWatch volunteers can chronicle election problems at this upcoming election and future elections, as well as for follow-on litigation and policymaking, in a way that most poll watchers cannot.

More than 750 technologists have already volunteered, but it will take thousands of TechWatch volunteers to cover priority states and key counties, starting with the Florida primary on August 31 and continuing through to the November 2 general election.

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