CyberSeniors.org

PRESS RELEASE

INNOVATIVE MAINE NON-PROFIT WINS MICROSOFT GRANT TO CONNECT SENIORS WITH TECHNOLOGY

PORTLAND, Me. - Amid plaudits from Maine's congressional delegation and city leaders, a small Portland non-profit whose goal is to bring wider computer access and education to seniors today received a substantial boost from the world's largest software company.

CyberSeniors.org of Portland, Maine, and Microsoft Corp. announced a quarter-million-dollar grant at a press conference, Oct. 26. The $250,000 award - one of the software giant's largest community-based grants - provides CyberSeniors.org the funding and software to develop a statewide network of computer learning centers to reach some 32,000 Maine seniors in public schools, libraries, healthcare centers, senior housing and community centers. This comprehensive, community-based model is designed to be implemented nationally.

Michal J. Kosek, New England general manager, Microsoft Corp., presented the grant to Elizabeth Isele, who founded CyberSeniors.org in 1998 and serves as its president. Microsoft's Connected Learning Community (CLC) grants support public nonprofit institutions providing innovative programs that connect individuals of all ages to learning resources.

Portland Mayor Cheryl A. Leeman, who hosted the City Hall press conference, said the city "is proud to be the home base for this community-minded and cutting-edge organization. Their inspiring work, along with the efforts of several other organizations, is certainly putting Portland on the national radar as an important technology hub."

US. Sen. Susan Collins, a member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, said in remarks delivered by her press secretary, Felicia Knight: "The 'digital divide' is a term we use a lot in Washington to describe the difference between technology 'haves' and 'have-nots.' Elizabeth Isele and CyberSeniors.org recognized several years ago, however, that the divide goes well beyond issues of access to Internet connections. Rather, the divide is also a 21st-century version of the 'generation gap,' with many seniors finding it increasingly difficult to participate in the economy of the information age. CyberSeniors.org is leading the way in efforts to bridge this divide."

Collins and the rest of the Maine delegation remained in Washington for end-of-session congressional business, but all sent remarks and representatives for the press conference.

Isele told the gathering that CyberSeniors/org was founded to create a socially responsible online community, connecting seniors age 50-plus to information resources and to one another. "This gives them the tools to best manage - or in some cases, regain control - of their lives. Microsoft's generous grant will have a major impact on our mission," she said.

Through its Computer Learning Centers, CyberSeniors.org aims to lessen seniors' social isolation by helping expand their sense of community - both real and virtual. In its first two years, CyberSeniors.org has trained more than 2,400 seniors in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts and hundreds more are on waiting lists for their workshops. Every month, another 100,000-plus seniors worldwide reach CyberSeniors.org through its website: www.cyberseniors.org.

Earlier this year, CyberSeniors.org opened its first CyberCafe in downtown Portland, where computers are available to seniors on a drop-in basis. The organization, in partnership with Maine Medical Center, also is launching CyberHealth, an interactive health education program that gives seniors the computer skills needed to locate, evaluate and use health resources on the Internet.

CyberSeniors.org is the first organizations for seniors to win an AOL Interactive Education Grant.

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