Tuesday, July 04, 2000
Inner-city kids get computer access
Gaming company donates to YMCA
By Patrick Crowley
The Cincinnati Enquirer
NEWPORT — A gaming company is making a $20,000 bet that computers will help some inner-city Newport kids with their education.
GTECH, a Rhode Island-based company that provides online games for state lotteries and owns a piece of Florence's Turfway Park horse track, will unveil Wednesday a donation of computer equipment to the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati's Marguerite Robinson Community Center.
According to a statement released Monday by GTECH, the company will donate “$20,000 in state-of-the-art computers, on-line technology (and) software” to the YMCA.
Participating in a dedication ceremony will be representatives of GTECH, center director Ryan Graham, Lt. Gov. Steve Henry and state Treasurer Jonathan Miller.
Mr. Graham said the center is excited about the donation of equipment and software because not many of the children in the inner-city neighborhood served by the Newport YMCA have home computers.
“The greatest benefit will be that with all the Internet access we are going to have and the programs we will have on the computers the kids that come here will be able to learn math and reading skills while having fun and learning how to use technology at the same time,” Mr. Graham said Monday.
The computers are already installed, Mr. Graham said. The Internet connection will be in place shortly.
The computers and software will go hand in hand with the center's Youth Achievement Program, an after-school education program, he said.
The donation is a part of GTECH's After School Advantage. The company plans to spend $3.3 million over the next three years giving computers, software and Internet access to after-school programs in inner-city neighborhoods.
The company has made similar donations to programs in Louisville, Lexington and Owensboro.
GTECH is a major consultant to the Kentucky Lottery Corp. Last year its Dreamport Corp. joined Keeneland racetrack in Lexington and Harrah's Corp., a casino operator, in the $37 million purchase of Turfway Park.
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