At-Risk Students Get Free Computers

For a long time, Marcell Reynolds has yearned for his very own computer.

“I’ve gone to bed and prayed for one,” said the seventh-grader from Hawthorne. But he knew that his mother, a single parent, could not afford one. “We’re on a tight budget,” he explained.

Monday morning, Marcell and 13 other boys and girls from economically disadvantaged families were jumping up and down after learning that they would each receive a home computer system, complete with software and a printer.

The giveaway, held in an auditorium at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, was organized by Second Byte Foundation, a Westlake Village-based nonprofit group dedicated to increasing access to computer technology for at-risk youth.

“Technology can help kids stay interested in education and school,” said Juliette Harris, the foundation’s executive director.

Because computers are so pervasive in the workplace and everyday life, they have become “an integral part of education,” said Darroch “Rocky” Young, president of Pierce College. But technology has also contributed to a “bifurcated society” between people with access and those without, he added. “That’s why I think the work of the Second Byte Foundation is so critical.”

The gifts came with strings attached. To keep the computers, the youths must maintain satisfactory grades and 95% attendance at school. They must also perform two hours of community service a month, take a computer class and pledge to make the world a better place.

It’s important for kids to have access to computers, because it gives them more opportunities, said former National Football League star Eric Dickerson, who also spoke at the news conference.

Shana McNealy, a ninth-grader from South-Central Los Angeles, believed having a computer would better prepare her for the future. “It will help me in school, get me ready for college and jobs,” she said.

Marcell, who said the gift was a dream come true, could hardly wait to look up current events Web sites. “As soon as I get home I’m going to hook it up,” he said.