The Educational Opportunity Center (EOC) has been awarded a three-year, $850,499 grant from the U.S. Department of Education to establish the first Community Technology Center (CTC) in Western New York.

EOC will partner with the King Urban Life Center, the Buffalo Public Schools ACCESS Center, the Buffalo Urban League and the Bethel Head Start program to offer innovative programming to address the "digital divide" among low-income residents, minorities and youth in Buffalo's inner city.

The federal CTC program funds projects that create and expand sites in distressed urban and rural areas where children and adults can gain access to computers, the Internet and educational technology.

The funding will be used to establish the TECHnology Works Resource Center, with EOC serving as the "hub" of operations and the partners as collaborating "satellite" sites.

EOC's involvement in the CTC program is a natural, organizers say. UB has been ranked the 11th most "wired" university in the nation by Yahoo! Internet Life magazine, and its Office of Public Service and Urban Affairs carries out public-service and urban-education missions.

"The EOC is well-positioned to meet the challenges of operating the TECHnology Works Resource Center," said Sherryl Weems, EOC director. "We have well-trained faculty and staff, upgraded technology and, through our 30-plus history, we've earned the trust and respect of our community.

"We are very excited to have the opportunity to bring together resources that offer the community access to programs and services that ultimately will bridge the 'digital divide,'" Weems said.

The TECHnology Works Resources Center will provide access to computer-related technology to individuals and their families; promote the use of informational technology in an urban educational setting, and provide courses, workshops, seminars and other activities relating to career exploration, development and job attainment.

It will use distance-learning and teleconferencing equipment located in the EOC and the King Urban Life Center for computer-literacy and acquisition courses and workshops related to educational preparation, life skills and job attainment.

Moreover, the TECHnology Works Resource Center will use the latest networking hardware to connect the EOC and the four hubs, enabling them to offer mutual programming and activities to a wide and varied audience, organizers say.

The center will provide computer-related technology access for pre-school children through adults. In addition to offering structured programming, it will be available for open use of computers and related technology, including access to email accounts and the Internet, by neighborhood residents who do not have access to computers at home, work or school.