Introduction

[Kara Callahan]

Rebecca,
I run a community services program in Annapolis, Maryland.  During the school year 20 children participate in an after school program which includes time on the computers which are available for their use. I am currently working on getting DSL service so that the children will have faster access to the internet and each have their own e-mail address come the new school year.
This fall, I would love to have my children become e-buddies with your children in the hospital so they can correspond back and forth with each other.  Do your kids have e-mail addresses? Would this be something you would like to try?
Kara  Callahan
The Gateway @ Admiral Oaks
430 Captain's Circle, T-1
Annapolis, MD  21401

<p><p><p>Foundation TempbFo (Rebecca Brown) (Foundation TempbFo) wrote:

> Hi all!
>    My name is Rebecca Brown.  I am a Project Assistant working at Inova Health System, in Fairfax, Virginia.  Inova is a nonprofit, community health care organization, which operates throughout the D.C. Metropolitan area. I am working specifically on a project called "Healing Communities: Technology for Hospitalized Children."
>     This project is an attempt to keep hospitalized children connected to their home and school communities by keeping them in touch with their school, teachers, classmates and friends through the appropriate use of technology.  The project will also allow these children to create their own communities within hospital walls and among children with similar medical issues whether in the hospital or at home.  These children, who are out of their communities and schools for extended periods of time, often fall behind both academically and socially.  The project will target middle school through high school aged children who are hospitalized repeatedly or for lengthy periods of time.  Currently we are working to develop a list of these children't specific needs as well as a pool of information on the available technolgoy and any current projects of this type.
>    As part of my work with the project I am researching issues that we believe are relevant to the project.  One of these is the digital divide.  Community technology projects, especially after school ones for youth, are an essential part of the effort to bridge this divide.  I learned of this listserv from a digital divide listserv run by the Benton Foundation.  I hope to gain from this list a broader knowledge of after-school technology programs and perhaps some ideas that can be applied to our program helping hospitalized children.  Thanks for your time!
>
> Rebecca Brown
> Project Assistant
> Inova Health System Foundation
> Tempb.foundation at inova.com