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SPCS founders Larry and Sharon Yost have invited representatives from the city, county, chamber of commerce, ministerial association and the press to attend the event. Lew Hunter of Superior will be the keynote speaker. The topic of Hunter's speech will be, "The Importance of Education for Everyone." The evening will begin with an introduction of guests, followed by the introduction and recognition of SPCS volunteers. The organization has approximately 25 volunteers in the Superior area.
Honored guests at the event will be Alvin and Judy Proctor and their daughter, Valerie, from Osage Nation, Okla. The SPCS recently donated a computer to Valerie, who is developmentally challenged. Alvin Proctor serves on the board of directors of the Cleveland Area Employment Training and Community Service Center in Cleveland, Okla., a nonprofit organization that cares for adults with developmental disabilities through group home living, independent supported living, employment opportunities and sheltered workshops. The Proctors will spend the night in Superior and depart April 23 with eight more SPCS computers for the Cleveland training center, churches and various other entities around Osage.
Following the Proctors, the Yosts will introduce personnel from the organization's two new subsidiaries: Hastings and Grand Island.
The SPCS was formed in May 2004 and incorporated as a nonprofit organization. The SPCS has a board of directors with members living in Kearney, Grand Island and Superior. The organization's first donated computer was matched with a recipient on May 12, 2004. The SPCS is patterned after a similar program operating in Tulsa, Okla., known as HelpingTulsa. The Yosts worked with Don Singleton, president of HelpingTulsa, to learn computer refurbishing.
Larry Yost learned about HelpingTulsa from talking to someone from the Computer Literacy and Distribution Program of the Chicasaw Nation in Ada, Okla. Larry said he and his wife hadn't heard of the Oklahoma program until their computer froze and they couldn't get it started. They sought advice from a friend in Oklahoma who referred them to Singleton.
They called Singleton, and he said he would give them a computer but did not have any way to deliver it. So they went to Tulsa to pick it up and were captivated by Singleton's idea of refurbishing outdated computers and giving them to groups that could use them. They began planning how to implement a program in Nebraska.
Their next trip to Tulsa was to learn how to refurbish computers. That time they came home with about 10 computers and an image machine, which allows them to erase a hard drive and quickly reinstall software designed for use by the intended recipients. Today their equipment includes four image machines plus other equipment for cleaning and repairing computers.
So far, the money for purchasing computers has come from their own pockets, but they hope others will become interested in the program and begin donating money and outdated computers.
The computers are loaded with various programs depending on the size of the computer. The machines refurbished for adults have a software package which includes the King James and New International versions of the Bible, eight research tools, and other programs. Available are Bible imaged, senior imaged with games added, such as solitaire, memory, and tic tac toe. The children's imaged machines have programs for children in grades 1-6.
The SPCS maintains a website at www.spcsne.org. For information about donating a computer or associated equipment, you may e-mail them through the website.
Kory Wattier of Superior is a third-grader at ISD. He stays in a dorm during the week and returns home on weekends, according to his mother, Sharla Wattier. He started at ISD at age five, learning to sign and to use speech. Kory is nine now. "Kory enjoys working with computers and electronics," Sharla said. "Whenever someone is working on something, he is always right there trying to help. He's a very bright young man."
ISD is a state, tax-supported school open to all students in Iowa under 21 years of age whose hearing loss is too great for them to progress satisfactorily in a regular or modified public school program. Located on 120 acres south of Council Bluffs, the school's educational program is designed to provide successful and satisfying learning experiences which promote balanced intellectual and social growth.
SPCS founders Larry and Sharon Yost originally donated one computer for Kory to use at home. Shortly after, they realized there was probably a need for even more of their refurbished machines at the school.
"Kory loves going to school at ISD. They have an excellent team of teachers and other personnel," Sharla said. "My son has grown from a frustrated boy to a very smart and loving boy who has learned to communicate through signing, using his voice and reading lips. He has become a very eager student and loves learning new things." According to Jim Adams, Kory's grandfather and an SPCS volunteer, five of the PCs will be taken home by boys in Kory's dorm, and the sixth will remain in the dorm for use during the school week. Jim also said a seventh computer is being prepared for donation to a student at ISD.
The Yosts, Kory, Sharla and Jim traveled to York on March 13 to meet the ISD bus that takes Kory back to Council Bluffs after his weekends home. This time, they also loaded the six donated computers onto the bus.
"Last year, Kory received an award that was signed by President Bush for his achievements at ISD. Being there gives my son the opportunity to have total communication with his teachers and peers. He has the opportunity to develop social skills and participate in activities that he could not here," Sharla said. " It was a hard decision to send him there, but it has been well worth the opportunities and education he is getting. He has learned that he can do anything that he wants."
"He had his computer start to die on him and was in need of assistance," said Yost. "Now he can keep up to speed with the Nebraska Conference on the computer again."