‘Eliminate the Digital Divide’ Grants Will Prepare Workers for Better Jobs
CHICAGO – Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich today announced the awarding of nearly $125,000 in innovative technology grants through his Opportunity Returns program that will allow hundreds of Rock River Valley residents to receive critical training in technology literacy. The grant program, known as Eliminate the Digital Divide, provides funding to local community technology centers in low-income communities to provide technology skills training and access to computers and the Internet. Since technology literacy today is a necessity to competing for and succeeding in well-paying jobs, this program teaches essential skills to people whom often lack access to important educational opportunities that will help prepare them for a 21st Century job.
“Expanding access to the Internet and technology goes hand-in-hand with giving children and working people all across Illinois the chance to learn more and get ahead. The grants we're announcing today will give dedicated local organizations in Rockford the opportunity to help hundreds of people do better in school or in their jobs,” Gov. Blagojevich said.
The nearly $125,000 in funding will go to four community technology centers in the Rockford area. Those grant recipients are:
Grantee Name/Contact Location Amount
Booker Washington Association, Inc Rockford $32,000
Calvin Squire (815) 968-8861
Northern Illinois Center for Adaptive Technology Rockford $24,000
David Grass (815) 229-2163
Promised Land Employment Rockford $24,695
Stephen Haight (815) 964-3491
Patriots' Gateway Community Center Rockford $43,661
James Flodin (815) 967-0413 x12
“Gov. Blagojevich and I believe that an effective economic development strategy must expand our educational resources at the community level. The Eliminate Digital the Divide program is proving to be a critical tool in ensuring that Rockford residents of all ages have the necessary skills to compete in our increasingly high-tech society,” State Representative Chuck Jefferson (D-Rockford) said.
In addition to providing basic technology skills training, grant recipients can provide a variety of technology-related services, including:
Access to career information, employment opportunities, and related Internet job searches
Computerized instruction in basic literacy skills, GED preparation, and English as a Second Language instruction, including distance-learning options
Professional development opportunities related to technology for teachers
Before and after-school technology programs for students
Promotion of home access to computers
“To meet the demands of today’s world, students and adults need to be proficient in Internet use and basic computer skills. In many economic environments, the resources that are needed to teach these skills simply aren’t available. The Eliminate the Digital Divide program is bringing these resources into the heart of the communities that need them most - helping to cast a wider net of real economic opportunity throughout our state and creating a brighter future for all of Illinois,” DCEO Director Jack Lavin said.
Gov. Blagojevich’s Opportunity Returns regional economic development strategy is the most aggressive, comprehensive approach to creating jobs in Illinois’ history. Since a one-size-fits-all approach to economic development just doesn’t work, the Governor has divided the state into 10 regions – each with a regional team that is empowered and expected to rapidly respond to opportunities and challenges. Opportunity Returns is about tangible, specific actions to make each region more accessible, more marketable, more entrepreneurial and more attractive to businesses. It is about upgrading the skills of the local workforce, increasing the access to capital, opening new markets, improving infrastructure, and creating and retaining jobs. Opportunity Returns is about successfully partnering with companies and communities, both large and small, to help all of Illinois reach its economic potential.