Reaching Out to Students and Families in West Oakland
The Center for Urban Family Life (CUFL) is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit corporation sponsored by the First Unitarian Church of Oakland. CUFL is the corporate entity under which two of our Justice programs function. These programs are the McClymonds Merit Awards Scholarship Program and the GotCOM computer online mentoring program. Both programs are intended to add skills and opportunities for students in West Oakland.
McClymonds Merit Awards
The McClymonds Merit Awards Scholarship Program provides 2-year college scholarships for about 25 graduating seniors each year. The students are selected by a Board comprised of a representative of our church community, McClymonds faculty, and community representatives. The awards are funded by an anonymous donation of $75,000 per year. The awards have been given for the past 5 years, during which time the graduation rate at McClymonds has improved substantially.
GotCOM
GotCom is a group of dedicated volunteers working to improve computer literacy and bridge the 'digital divide' in West Oakland. We do this by helping students and parents improve their computing skills and by providing free high speed Internet access and free computers to low income families.
The free computer program is a partnership with Oakland Technology Exchange (OTX-West). After completing a single class in basic training, families receive free re-furbished computers and 12 months of free high speed Internet service accounts. We also help improve computing skills in our on-going after-school and Saturday morning computer labs.
GotCOM has been running for a number of years. This program has been funded by several different grants. We started providing computer training to students at Lowell Middle School. We currently serve middle school students grades 5 - 8 at KIPP Bridge School and West Oakland Middle School. Volunteers are needed on a weekly basis in the labs. We also need volunteers to help families set up their Internet connections. If you would like to volunteer, or want to know more about free take-home computers or Internet access, please contact Project Coordinator Ben Thompson at 510-420-8864 or info@gotcom.org.
CUFL -- and these programs -- are run by volunteers from First Unitarian Church of Oakland. We need additional involvement at several levels, including new board members.
Please contact Jeff Asher at jasher@ix.netcom.com for information about CUFL; Diane Olson at dianeolson@earthlink.net for information about the McClymonds Merit Awards Program; and Ben Thompson at info@gotcom.org for information about GotCOM.