Columbia volunteers gave away used computers to citizens at the Downtown Optimist Club on Saturday.
The Voluntary Action Center (VAC) and the Downtown Optimist Club partnered to help Columbia citizens enrolled in VAC programs obtain a free desktop for their household.
The Homes for Computers program was approved by Columbia city council in December of 2003. Every year, used desktops are given away to help citizens have computer access. 33 computers were given away this year. Altogether, the program has found homes for 413 desktops.
Jackie Wilmes, social service specialist for the Voluntary Action Center, said the surplus computers come from the city offices.
“For our services, we serve families that are 200 percent of the poverty level or lower,” Wilmes said.
“The basic things that we need for service are documentation of address. For this program, they would have to be living in the city limits of Columbia, have school-aged children. So, they would bring IDs of anyone at the address and documentation of all current income.”
Wilmes said if applicants meet all those qualifications and do not currently have a computer in their home, they can fill out a one page application before the deadline. However, if there were more applicants than computers available, a drawing would be held for the recipients. This year, there were 43 applicants and only 33 computers.
Before one could claim their new computer, recipients had to attend an Internet safety presentation. The training informed recipients about the dangers of today’s cyber crime, especially cyber crime involving children.
Tracy Perkins, detective for the Boone County Sherriff’s Department, gave the presentation to help parents learn how to keep their children safe on the Internet.
“The cases that the task force is enduring is the sexual exploitation of children,” Perkins said.
“It is entitled not just sexting, but there’s the child pornography. There’s the gambling. There’s the gaming sites. There is the sexual misconduct that the kids are getting involved in on. And, then, there’s the sense of the pure addiction that comes along with the Internet.”
Perkins said parents can help their kids by using common sense. Perkins also said parents shouldn’t be afraid to talk to their kids and educate themselves about what’s really going on on the Internet.
“Kids are our future,” Perkins said.
If you need to report a cyber crime or incident, Perkins says to please call local police or the Boone County Sherriff’s Department’s Cyber Crime Task Force at 573-442-4302.
