Rick Deane and Johnson County Community College intern, Karita Matlock, getting refurbished computers ready.

We are happy to announce that the fund raising campaign to build the free Wi-Fi network at the Juniper Gardens low income housing project has ended successfully!

Thanks to all who gave through our crowdfunding efforts on Neighbor.ly.  In addition to these funds, Ubiquiti Networks donated the 40 high gain antennas we needed to complete the nearly $40,000 project.

At present, we are fine tuning the network making sure that the signal is strong throughout the complex.  The “hotspot” we’ve created covers four city blocks and reaches into over 300 apartments!

In the meantime, we are getting volunteer trainers equipped to bring digital life skills classes to the residents at Juniper Gardens.  We are also getting refurbished laptops ready so that every family will be able to connect to the network.  Those who complete two digital life skills sessions will be able to purchase of these computers for just $50.00.

Community Outreach Update

Pauline conducts a digital literacy session for job seekers at the Green Impact Zone.

In March, our mobile computer lab received a boost with a donation of twenty Chromebook laptop computers from Google Fiber.  And it has been used a lot since then.

Dan Harmon is leading digital life skills sessions at branches of the Kansas City Missouri Public Library system (see article).  We are coordinating these classes to coincide with the installation of Google Fiber in the various “fiberhoods” throughout the city.  Besides basic Internet skills like web searches and using e-mail, we are also showing participants how to sign up for the Google Fiber service.  We want as many local residents as possible to take advantage of their $300 for seven years of Internet plan.

In addition to the library sessions, the mobile computer lab will be used for training sessions as juniper Gardens once the network there is completely operational.  And, the lab is also travelling to other sites as we are being hosted by local nonprofit organizations such as the Green Impact Zone’s Essential Employability program and the Job Club sponsored by Crosslines Community Outreach.  Other agencies that assist job seekers are referring their clients to us. So similar courses are being conducted using the computer lab at our Westport center. In all of these sessions, we are offering the refurbished computers for $50.00 to people who qualify as low income.

Special thanks to Pauline Eatmon Johnson of ScholarSmarts and Dr. Barbara Lach of UMKC for working with us to develop and conduct these training sessions.  We are in need of additional volunteers as this outreach grows.  If you are interested in getting involved, please contact us.

Another growing outreach has been assisting local nonprofit organizations with their technology needs.  Currently, we’re helping the Palestine Neighborhood Development Corporation, 3449 Indiana, KCMO to develop a community computer center.  And we have supplied low cost computers to the True Light Family Resource Center and Hero’s Home shelter for homeless veterans.  Other projects with other community groups are currently in the planning phase.

Thanks to all who have donated used computer equipment!  We continue to need good used PCs, especially laptops.  If you have equipment to donate, please use our donation form.

The post Community Outreach is Growing! appeared first on Connecting for Good.

We have successfully installed 70 Wi-Fi radios on almost 40 buildings at Juniper Gardens, a 390 unit low income housing project in Kansas City, Kansas. Located at 3rd and Quindaro, Juniper Gardens is a place where the average household income is half the average of the rest of the state and where the crime rate is four times the national average.

We are working to bring free broadband Wi-Fi to every family at the complex, nearly 1,000 people a majority of whom are children under 18 years old. We just know that having Internet connectivity will absolutely transform this under resourced neighborhood.

Though we have constructed a four block wide “hotspot,” without the funds to install the remaining high gain antennas, we will not be able to provide the access speeds that we know this network is capable of, up to 20 Mbps. Adding the 9db antennas to the radio units increases their bandwidth output nearly 10 times. This will bring true broadband Internet access to all 400 families who call Juniper Gardens home, in every room of every apartment.

Already with 11 of these upgraded antennas installed. over 500 devices have connected to the network in the past month. Of those, 38 Kansas City, Ks High School issued laptops have used this network. About half of the devices are smart phones. We see approximately 100 to 150 devices daily. With the rest of the antennas installed, the network will totally cover the entire complex, resulting in a greatly increased usage. In May, we will begin conducting regular digital life skills classes on-site at Juniper Gardens and offering residents there $50 refurbished laptop computers.

The sixty remaining antennas we need cost about $100 a peace.

Thanks to all who made a donation on Neighbor.ly!  We now have $5,105.00 left of the total amount of $39,625 that we need to raise.

Help us complete this project with a donation through PayPal.

The post Close to Funding the Juniper Gardens Project appeared first on Connecting for Good.

In March we embarked on a project to build a free broadband Wi-Fi network at Juniper Gardens, the oldest and largest public housing project in the state of Kansas.

We are pleased to announce that we met the March 31st installation deadline in order to receive a $15,000 equipment donation from One Economy Corporation! We did it by installing nearly 70 wireless radios on forty buildings at the complex, creating a four block wide “hotspot.”

We have just one final piece to the puzzle – the high power antennas needed to ensure complete cable Internet-equivalent speed to every household at Juniper Gardens.  Adding the 9db antennas to the radio units increases their bandwidth output nearly 10 times. This will bring true broadband Internet access to all 400 families who call Juniper Gardens home, in every room of every apartment.

At the same time, we have drawn closer to our fund raising goal for the project.  We just need the final $6,595 to purchase these antennas and the project will be completed.  Once everyone at Juniper Gardens can get online, our team of trainers will begin regular digital life skills classes on-site at the complex.  And, we will be offering families there a chance to get an Internet-ready computer for just $50.00.

HELP US FINISH THIS PROJECT! Make a donation on Neighbor.ly

The post Juniper Gardens Project Nears Completion appeared first on Connecting for Good.

We announced earlier this month that we have partnered with the Kansas City Kansas Housing Authority to bring free in-home Wi-Fi to all 390 units at their Juniper Gardens low income housing project. Along with bringing free Internet to nearly 1,000 people that live there, we are also offering inexpensive refurbished laptops and digital life skills training.

In order to receive the equipment donation from One Economy Corporation, we had to agree to make sure the network was operational by March 31. So, in order to meet the deadline have begun installing the Wi-Fi radios as we continue to raise the funds to complete the project. A film crew from KCTV5 had a chance to visit with our staff members as they were working at Juniper Gardens.

We are excited to have received some funding toward the project in the last few days, including a $1,000 donation from Arvest Bank.  Here is what we have left to raise:

When completed, the Juniper Gardens Wi-Fi network will cover nearly four city blocks and reach into 40 buildings, bringing free in-home Internet to 1,000 residents.

YOUR HELP IS NEEDED! Make a donation to this project on Neighbor.ly

The post Juniper Gardens Free Wi-Fi Project Update appeared first on Connecting for Good.

We are pleased to announce that Connecting for Good has entered into a partnership with the Kansas City Kansas Housing Authority  to bring free Wi-Fi to their largest low income housing project – Juniper Gardens. The project will bring a free broadband Internet connection into all 390 units where nearly 1,000 people live. The  large mesh network we are building will require installing more than 70 Wi-Fi radio transmitters on nearly forty buildings (see below).  We will also be developing a computer learning lab in the community center at the complex. Similar to our Rosedale Ridge project, we will be providing digital life skills training and inexpensive refurbished PC systems to residents at Juniper Gardens

There are a number of wonderful  nonprofit organizations working at the complex.  We are excited about the many ways that providing Internet access, computers, and digital literacy training will enhance their efforts to assist residents. Among the them are YouthBuild, New Roots for Refugees, a program with Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas, and CultivateKC, which supports an eight-acre urban farming training project for residents and people in the surrounding neighborhood.  We have heard that among the many recent refugees who live in the complex, at least fifteen different languages are spoken.
The Northeast neighborhood where Juniper Gardens is located is the largest concentration of poverty in the entire KC Metro area.  This project will give us a foothold that will allow us to expand the network to reach other families in Northeast Wyandotte County.  To that end, we are creating a designated fund to support an urban broadband initiative. We will be working with local residents and neighborhood associations to find creative ways to extend Internet connectivity throughout the entire area.

We have already secured a One Economy Corporation in-kind donation of Wi-Fi radio equipment – valued at $15,000 – that will bring broadband Internet to every apartment at Juniper Gardens.  The grant will also pay for bandwidth to power the network for the first year. And, the Housing Authority will be picking up that expense after the first year.

To secure this grant,  this network must be built by March 31.  We have to raise approximately $16,000 for additional equipment and the installation costs.

YOUR HELP IS NEEDED! Make a donation to this project on Neighbor.ly

Aerial view of the Juniper Gardens low income housing complex.

Photo of resident in community gardens courtesy of Catholic Charities

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In recent special report, “Bridging the digital divide” on on Kansas City’s KCTV5, reporter Sandra Olivas highlighted how much trouble Kansas City, KS high school students have finding Internet access in order to use their high school-issued laptops.

They’ve had to be very creative to do their homework online because so many have no in home connectivity. This is a real problem that we are working to address at Connecting for Good. Our solution is to bring free in home Internet to low income housing properties using Wi-Fi technology.

An excerpt:

According to the Kansas Corporation Commission, only 63 percent of families in the Sunflower State, or 1.2 million households, have internet access. It’s been six years since all 5,000 high school students in the KCK School District were assigned free laptops.

The only stumbling block discovered in a district-wide survey revealed that 40 percent of students don’t have internet at home. The question then being asked is where students turn to get connected.

The post KCTV5 Report on the Digital Divide (video) appeared first on Connecting for Good.

We want to make sure that every family in our area has the opportunity to be a part of the fiber revolution. We are especially focusing on under resourced neighborhoods East of Troost Avenue.  For those in lower income brackets, we are promoting Google Fiber’s $300/7 years of 5 Mb Internet connectivity plan. Those who participate can make 12 monthly payments of $25 in the first year and receive the next six years free of charge.

It’s a tremendous opportunity to close the Digital Divide in this city and we don’t want anyone to miss out.  Once the first wave of signups is complete, Google has said they may not return to those areas to run their fiber again for 2 to 3 years.

Along with a lack of an affordable Internet connection and a lack of skills to use the Internet, people often don’t get onlne because they lack a computer and the resources they need to obtain one.  Our voucher program will give participants in these training opportunities a chance to pick up inexpensive refurbished PCs from Connecting for Good headquarters at 1624 Westport Road.  Normally $149.00, the vouchers will enable participants in the sessions to purchase them for $99.00   For lower income participants, an additional discount will be offered, allowing them to purchase the computers for $49.00.

Classes are being scheduled at the various branches as the fiber installation schedule is released.  We are actively soliciting volunteers to help in the sessions, donations of used computers to use in this effort and financial support.

Learn more about our Digital Life Skills Program.  If you would like more information about these efforts, call (913) 730-0677 or use our contact form.

The post Digital Literacy Classes at Local Libraries appeared first on Connecting for Good.

On January 30, 2013, we had the privilege of doing a presentation about our organization at 1 Million Cups, the entrepreneur pitch program of Kauffman Labs and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Each week, the program gives local upstarts a chance to present their companies to a diverse audience of mentors, advisors, and entrepreneurs.

The post 1 Million Cups Presentation (video) appeared first on Connecting for Good.

Rosedale Ridge is a model for what we plan to do at similar Section 8 and public housing facilities throughout the Kansas City area.

The post 41 Action News Story on Rosedale Ridge (video) appeared first on Connecting for Good.