CTCs: Share your Stories to save funding

[Victoria Vrana]

On behalf of the Digital Empowerment Steering Committee, a working group of
over 100 national and local organizations working to expand opportunity in
the Digital Age, we write seeking your assistance in saving two critical
technology investment programs: the Technology Opportunity Program (TOP)
and the Community Technology Centers (CTC) initiative.

As you may know, President Bush, in his most recent budget request to
Congress, proposed to eliminate both the TOP and CTC community technology
programs. We believe these programs are critical to expanding opportunity
in the Digital Age and are launching a national campaign to save these
programs. A campaign website is being created to help coordinate the
national and local events that will take place as part of the campaign.

To help educate Members of Congress and the press about the benefits of
these crucial programs, we are compiling stories from grantees,
individuals, and communities who have benefited from these programs.

Please visit the Share Your Story section on the Digital Empowerment
website:

http://www.digitalempowerment.org/devel/share_your_story

and fill out the form and encourage others who have benefited from these
programs to do so as well (choose your state and a list of TOP and CTC
programs will appear).

These stories will help our allies on Capitol Hill in our advocacy efforts
and it will also enable us to make a stronger case as we continue our
national public education campaign on behalf of expanding opportunity in
the Digital Age.

It is very important that we show the breadth of support and personal
enrichment from those who are benefiting from these critically important
community technology programs. Also, if news articles have been written
about your program, please forward a copy of the article to us either by
email or via fax at (202) 466-3435.

Finally, if your organization supports our efforts to save TOP and CTC,
please make sure it is listed on our list of
supporting organizations.

Thank you very much for your assistance.

Digital Empowerment Steering Committee
http://www.digitalempowerment.org/devel/about/default.asp

~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
Victoria Vrana vvrana at morino.org
Morino Institute http://www.morino.org

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