The Youth Job Center of Evanston has received a $40,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s Eliminate the Digital Divide Program to set up a Community Technology Center.
The Youth Job Center of Evanston has received a $40,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s Eliminate the Digital Divide Program to set up a Community Technology Center.
It’s the first grant to an Evanston non-profit under the program and will let the center provide public access to computers and other technology center services for at least 12 hours per week.
When the state employment center office closed last year, “Evanston was left with a huge void in terms of providing access to technology for its residents,” says Executive Director Sacella Smith. “The Youth Job Center will now be filling that void as our new technology center will better meet the needs of the more than 1,400 young people we serve each year as well as the entire Evanston community.”
This grant from the state of Illinois works in tandem with funding received from two area family foundations to renovate and expand the YJC’s computer lab from 10 work stations to more than 20.
With unemployment still at 9.1 percent in Illinois and close to 7 percent in Evanston, the YJC Community Technology Center will be a vital resource to developing a strong workforce in Evanston and surrounding communities, Smith said.