2018 Blue Diamond Award Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jenny Myers
E2D Community Outreach Coordinator
jwmyers2002@gmail.com
215-704-7627
E2D’S Re-Image CLT West Lab at West Charlotte High School Recognized for
Technology Excellence and Innovation
April 12, 2018, CHARLOTTE, NC - E2D, Inc. is very pleased to announce that its Re-Image CLT West lab on the campus of West Charlotte High School in Charlotte, NC has been awarded the 2018 Blue Diamond Award for Technology Innovation. Specifically, the first cohort of students at E2D’s Re-Image CLT West Lab have been recognized as the pioneering team responsible for positively transforming thousands of student lives in the Charlotte region by refurbishing and re-imaging corporate donations of decommissioned laptop computers.
Opened just one year ago in April 2017, E2D’s Re-Image CLT West lab has refurbished and redistributed over 1,000 laptops to low-income homes of students previously lacking home-based critical technology upon which they can perform their schoolwork. Presently, an estimated 3,200 people use laptops provided by this Lab every day. Laptops are donated to E2D by local organizations and students – hired, trained and employed by E2D – perform all of the technical skills necessary to clean, assess, repair, re-image and relicense the software to redistribute to student families. The Re-Image CLT West lab has been supervised successfully by CMS Technology Facilitator, Kevin Poirier and is under the direction of Principal Timisha Barnes-Jones.
Dr. Barnes-Jones: “As an educator, I simply could not be prouder than I am of these students and the critical work that they have performed in this E2D Lab. Countless student lives have been improved by having access to laptops and student academic outcomes are improving daily.”
Pat Millen, Executive Director/Co-Founder of E2D: “Our Re-Image CLT West lab at West Charlotte was a pilot program that has been so successful that it has already spawned two additional labs on CMS campuses at Garinger and South Mecklenburg High Schools. We estimate that there are still another 18,000 CMS households living on the wrong side of the digital divide. With labs such as West Charlotte’s performing at such a highly productive rate, if we can get in the computer inventory from local businesses, we may be able to achieve a 100% home-based digital inclusion solution by the end of 2019.”
E2D is proud to have Google Fiber as a primary partner for its Re-Image CLT labs as well as the incredible support of Lowe’s Home Improvement, Wells Fargo and Penny Appeal USA. For additional information or to schedule a tour of the Re-Image CLT West lab with lab technician interviews, please contact, Jenny Myers at jwmyers2002@gmail.com or call 704-657-0408.
Jenny Myers
E2D Community Outreach Coordinator
jwmyers2002@gmail.com
215-704-7627
E2D’S Re-Image CLT West Lab at West Charlotte High School Recognized for
Technology Excellence and Innovation
April 12, 2018, CHARLOTTE, NC - E2D, Inc. is very pleased to announce that its Re-Image CLT West lab on the campus of West Charlotte High School in Charlotte, NC has been awarded the 2018 Blue Diamond Award for Technology Innovation. Specifically, the first cohort of students at E2D’s Re-Image CLT West Lab have been recognized as the pioneering team responsible for positively transforming thousands of student lives in the Charlotte region by refurbishing and re-imaging corporate donations of decommissioned laptop computers.
Opened just one year ago in April 2017, E2D’s Re-Image CLT West lab has refurbished and redistributed over 1,000 laptops to low-income homes of students previously lacking home-based critical technology upon which they can perform their schoolwork. Presently, an estimated 3,200 people use laptops provided by this Lab every day. Laptops are donated to E2D by local organizations and students – hired, trained and employed by E2D – perform all of the technical skills necessary to clean, assess, repair, re-image and relicense the software to redistribute to student families. The Re-Image CLT West lab has been supervised successfully by CMS Technology Facilitator, Kevin Poirier and is under the direction of Principal Timisha Barnes-Jones.
Dr. Barnes-Jones: “As an educator, I simply could not be prouder than I am of these students and the critical work that they have performed in this E2D Lab. Countless student lives have been improved by having access to laptops and student academic outcomes are improving daily.”
Pat Millen, Executive Director/Co-Founder of E2D: “Our Re-Image CLT West lab at West Charlotte was a pilot program that has been so successful that it has already spawned two additional labs on CMS campuses at Garinger and South Mecklenburg High Schools. We estimate that there are still another 18,000 CMS households living on the wrong side of the digital divide. With labs such as West Charlotte’s performing at such a highly productive rate, if we can get in the computer inventory from local businesses, we may be able to achieve a 100% home-based digital inclusion solution by the end of 2019.”
E2D is proud to have Google Fiber as a primary partner for its Re-Image CLT labs as well as the incredible support of Lowe’s Home Improvement, Wells Fargo and Penny Appeal USA. For additional information or to schedule a tour of the Re-Image CLT West lab with lab technician interviews, please contact, Jenny Myers at jwmyers2002@gmail.com or call 704-657-0408.
About E2D – Eliminate the Digital Divide: Since 2013 E2D has helped provide digital solutions for more than 5,000 low-income families in the Charlotte Region. E2D obtains laptop donations from generous corporations and refurbishes them to distribute to students. E2D also helps source low-cost access to broadband solutions as well as provides digital literacy training for its families.
E2D is committed to providing exposure to workforce development opportunities and IT skill training to CMS youth through its Re-Image CLT initiative. E2D hires, trains and employs some of Charlotte's most at-risk youth as computer lab technicians to refurbish laptops that will in turn be distributed to their fellow CMS peers. Re-Image CLT labs located on the campuses of Garinger, South Mecklenburg, and West Charlotte High Schools.
E2D has received many awards and acclaim for its work including The Blue Diamond Award for NonProfit Technology from IT-ology. E2D was named the Most Innovative Digital Inclusion Leader in the USA by Next Century Cities & the National League of Cities as well as one of the “Top 30 Technologists, Transformers and Trailblazers” for 2016 by The Center for Digital Education. Most recently, E2D's Re-Image CLT West lab received the 2018 Blue Diamond Award for Technology Innovation from the Charlotte Area Technology Collaborative.
E2D is committed to providing exposure to workforce development opportunities and IT skill training to CMS youth through its Re-Image CLT initiative. E2D hires, trains and employs some of Charlotte's most at-risk youth as computer lab technicians to refurbish laptops that will in turn be distributed to their fellow CMS peers. Re-Image CLT labs located on the campuses of Garinger, South Mecklenburg, and West Charlotte High Schools.
E2D has received many awards and acclaim for its work including The Blue Diamond Award for NonProfit Technology from IT-ology. E2D was named the Most Innovative Digital Inclusion Leader in the USA by Next Century Cities & the National League of Cities as well as one of the “Top 30 Technologists, Transformers and Trailblazers” for 2016 by The Center for Digital Education. Most recently, E2D's Re-Image CLT West lab received the 2018 Blue Diamond Award for Technology Innovation from the Charlotte Area Technology Collaborative.