Outstanding Performance by an Organization Award Recipient
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT TECHNOLOGIES CENTER
The Community Development Technologies Center (CDTech) developed the TechREADY program to increase competitiveness of Vernon-Central youth and families through technology skills and jobs to close the Digital Divide and strengthen the local and regional economies by providing the ICT industry with a competent workforce and greater market penetration. To this date, 225 households (16% of Vernon-Central) were connected to broadband and 700 computers were refurbished and provided to LAUSD. The organization also formed:
(1) the IT Advisory Committee to obtain advice from public, private, and non-profit members on CDTech workforce development and social enterprise development strategies; (2) the Vernon-Central Education Network with Principals, key administrators, and faculty from elementary, middle and high schools committed to building and implementing the K-20 technology-based program; and (3) the Vernon-Central Workforce Development Network, which provides youth with case management, work readiness and leadership development programming.
CDTech approaches projects with a truly comprehensive community revitalization initiative that touches all aspects of the community – education, business development, community development, leadership development, and civic engagement. All of the CDTech strategies are explicitly designed to go beyond skills development and to go into actual implementation, via direct community support. As a nationally-recognized leader, CDTech has been cited in numerous publications as a model for Best Practices in multicultural leadership and community development. CDTech has a highly engaged community base, including waiting lists for their technology workshops and a base of 1,000 families ready and eager to be involved in community development. The accomplishments of CDTech in building public, private and non-profit partnerships combined with resident organizing and activism laid the groundwork for the overarching values Don and Rosemary Vial worked towards.
