Texas Connects Coalition Announces Second Annual “Broadband Across Texas Week”

HOUSTON - June 20, 2013 - PRLog -- HOUSTON – The second annual “Broadband Across Texas Week” presented by the Texas Connects Coalition (TXC2), aims to help people across the state gain valuable digital skills and learn about free computer and Internet access at more than 90 Public Computing Centers (PCCs) during the week of June 23-29.
TXC2, a partnership between nonprofit organizations Austin Free-Net and Technology For All, will offer free classes on digital literacy subjects such as using a computer, navigating the Internet safely, searching for and applying for jobs, and other related topics. Recipients of a Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grant in 2010, TXC2 works daily to decrease the digital divide through public computer labs and classrooms.

Daily events are scheduled to take place in Austin, Houston, San Antonio and communities in rural Texas. Some PCCs will present special courses such as creating electronic copies of important documents and photos in case of a disaster or using Skype to place web-based calls to friends and family members in other parts of the country or aboard.

“Digital Literacy is of the utmost importance to the overall economic growth of Texas and this nation,” said Dr. Will Reed, president and chief executive officer of Technology For All (TFA). “We provide Texans free basic computer education, Internet training and public access to state-of-the-art computers and tablet technology. Our staff helps the vulnerable populations of our state gain the knowledge, skills and abilities that they need to participate fully in the digital world.”

“‘Broadband Across Texas Week’ is a tool for community awareness. We encourage the public to come by one of our labs and see how we can help them enhance their lives. We’ll teach free computer classes in English and Spanish and we don’t require registration or documentation of any kind,” said Juanita Budd, executive director of Austin Free-Net. “We plan on having fun with the event and our clients. We’ll provide refreshments and prizes to encourage our clients to enter, but we know the fundamental purpose of the week and our overall existence is serious and necessary. I invite return and new clients to come see what TXC2’s public computer labs have to offer.”
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Texas Connects Coalition (TXC2) is a collaborative project between Technology For All and Austin Free-Net. TFA is the recipient and manager of a grant for the project from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program. With local community relationships, TXC2 provides computer and Internet access, training and more for Texans with limited access to digital opportunities in the Austin, Houston, San Antonio, central Texas and Brazos Valley regions. Get more information at www.txc2.org, www.austinfree.net or www.techforall.org.

Media Contacts:
Austin Free-Net: Mimi Tilton
Mimi.tilton@austinfree.net
(512) 236-8225 ext. 23

Technology For All, Rural Texas and San Antonio: Fran Hunter
Fran.Hunter@techforall.org
(512) 237-7025

Technology For All, Houston
Pam.Gardner@techforall.org
(713) 454-6415