The Ashland Independent
February 23, 2004

Hospital donates computers to students

ASHLAND Pencils and paper and a shelf full of library books don't cut it anymore in today's world of Internet-based research.

College students need access to the World Wide Web for homework, research and course management. Those who don't have computers at home have to make the trek to libraries or computer labs at school.

That's particularly difficult for non-traditional students like Brandy Fowler, who just started a part-time job at Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital, which she juggles with Ashland Community and Technical College classes and caring for her 2-year-old daughter.

Fowler, a Boyd County resident, is one of 25 ACTC students in the Ready To Work program who received free computers Friday, courtesy of OLBH. The hospital's donation was to the RTW program, which then gives the computers to students for use in their homes.

Ready-to-Work, a partnership between the Kentucky Community and Technical College System and the state Cabinet for Families and Children, enrolls needy students with children into college and prepares them for the work world.

The hospital donated the computers because it is upgrading its system and would have had to pay a recycler to take them away, said Jim Meister, director of information technology at OLBH.

The hospital has given computers away before on a smaller scale, Meister said. "We hope they can use them and that they really help the students. It's part of our mission; we need to give back to the community."

"I was so excited to hear about the computers because it's hard to find time to go to the library," Fowler said.

The goal of Ready-to-Work is to make the transition through school to work easier, said coordinator Regina Twinam. The computers will aid in reaching that goal, she said.

Besides researching and writing papers, students need computers to access course-related e-mail, retrieve grades, and take care of other school business. Some courses are offered on-line as well, Twinam said.

"When I got the computer, it was like a gift from heaven," said RTW student Louise Smith, who got her machine through a different donor in a previous giveaway. The mother of four living in Greenup County found it difficult and expensive to drive back and forth to school to use the computers there. "It's a help to be able to sit at home and do the papers."

Most RTW students are single parents and need computers to work at home, said Kelly Forbes, herself in the program and an assistant in Twinam's office. "You can't bring a 3-year-old to the library and expect him to sit still," she said.