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CLEAR Temp: 100 °F Wind: WNW at 6 mph Saturday, September 27, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine Joy Magazine Tempo A & E RogueValleyAutoFinder RogueValleyHomeFinder Real Estate Showcase Wellness Connection Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Employment Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend April 28, 2003 Jodi and Jerry Yap are refurbishing computers for use by kids in Talent schools. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Tech-savvy couple helps kids A Talent couple uses donated parts to provide computers for kids By BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune TALENT � Combining their strong beliefs in recycling and the educational benefits of computers, Jerry and Jodi Yap have launched a project to ensure that every kid who needs a computer gets one as quickly as donated parts can be pieced together. The Talent couple have been quietly running a campaign unofficially dubbed "Computers to Kids" under the auspices of the city enhancement committee since January. In just four months, nearly 160 computer systems have been placed with school-age children throughout Talent, Medford, Ashland, Phoenix and Central Point. Jodi Yap jokes that the project seemed a natural, since she’s always been big on recycling. But both she and her husband, a network analyst at Southern Oregon University, also understand the role computers play in the success of today’s schoolchildren. Advertisement "There is just such a desperate need," said Jerry Yap. "Especially for kids who are falling behind because parents can’t necessarily afford one. Computers are just such a tremendous tool for learning, for creating, for communication. "I would like to see as many kids and their families as possible have at least one. This is my way of giving back what I’ve been given. I’ve been fortunate in having help getting started in my career with computing. This is my way of encouraging the next generation." Though the project unofficially began in 1997 when a friend asked the Yaps to refurbish some old systems for school children, it became a focus of the city enhancement committee in January. That’s when the tech-savvy couple learned that students of Talent’s alternative school had been given computers, but they were all outdated. "They were basically like museum pieces at that point in time," said Jerry Yap. "The teacher asked if there was anything I could do to help, so we started putting up fliers for used computers and parts. Things people have had in their closets for maybe four or five years but that were still functional." The response was so tremendous that the couple’s temporary inventory of motherboards, cases and monitors overfilled a spare room and a single-car garage had to be rented. Enough equipment was donated to supply students at the alternative school with quality systems as well as build dozens more for kids who otherwise would do without. Doing without was exactly what Talent mother Tina Duncan didn’t want for her five daughters. She understood the importance of learning new technology and having access to computers, especially for school. She had been given two old computers that didn’t work. The Yaps upgraded one and traded the other for a working system and delivered both two weeks ago, complete with technical support and maintenance. "When you have five kids, you can’t exactly afford to go out and buy a brand new computer or two for that matter," said Duncan. "They’re just wonderful people. We didn’t have a computer, then all of a sudden my kids can search the Internet, they can talk to family from California and my high school daughter was even able to do a class online. We went from no computers to a two-computer family." Don Wolff, technology director for the Phoenix-Talent School District, said at least 30 percent of the district’s computers, which could not have been afforded because of budget cuts, had been acquired through donations from Asante, the Yaps, the county and city of Medford. The Yaps also upgraded several systems for the school district. "These computers aren’t brand new, but without them three elementary schools wouldn’t have computer labs, a number of teachers wouldn’t have machines on their desktops and our alternative school wouldn’t have any working computers whatsoever," Wolff said. "They (the Yaps) have been great, and they took it all on their own." Computers to Kids is currently accepting old systems and usable parts in order to complete additional systems for children around the Rogue Valley. For more information, call 535-3105. On the Web: http://hometown.aol.com/comp2kids/myhomepage/business.html Buffy Pollock is a free-lance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected]. Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. 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