thedrifter
03-24-07, 07:49 PM
College donates computers to Missouri armory
The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Mar 24, 2007 15:48:41 EDT
DE SOTO, Mo. — Staff Sgt. Sara Robinson thought about her possible deployment to Iraq, her 1-year-old son and the computers her college no longer needs — and an idea was born.
For military parents who, like Robinson, worry about becoming strangers to their very young children, surely those computers could help provide connections to their families back home and make the separation a bit less stressful.
Jefferson College officials agreed, and on March 24, Robinson and her husband helped carry three donated computers into the De Soto National Guard Armory.
Robinson, 26, serves with the Guard’s 735th Quartermaster Company, which was recently alerted to a possible deployment. She is also a student at Jefferson College and helps manage the school’s computer lab.
When she learned the lab was to be upgraded, she asked if the school would consider donating the old computers to her unit’s Family Readiness Group, which serves as a network for families that soldiers leave behind.
Now, Allen Wamsley, the college’s director of instructional support and academic computing, now hopes to find a company to donate high speed Internet service as well as Web cams to the unit to make video conferencing possible.
Usually, the college donates surplus computers to a nonprofit, which then distributes them to other nonprofit groups. Sometimes, the computers are sold at auctions, Wamsley said.
Kathy Shepard, lead volunteer for the Family Readiness Group, gave Wamsley a certificate of appreciation March 23 shortly after he delivered the machines.
“This will give families peace of mind and soldiers’ peace of mind, because they will be able to communicate better and not have to wait for letters to arrive,” Shepard said.
Even though she is grateful for the donation of the computers, Robinson now is hoping someone will come forward to donate equipment to make video conferencing possible.
Along with being away from her young son, Paul, she probably will be separated from her husband, Sgt. Clark Robinson. He is a member of the same unit but served with psychological operations in Afghanistan from 2002 to 2003 and will not be called to serve another tour so close to his last.
“It’s a big issue to see what your son looks like or your wife looks like because they say body language is 90 percent of communication,” Clark Robinson said.
“And,” his wife added, “for the families with little kids, they will see Mommy or Daddy. And we won’t feel like strangers to them when we come back.
Ellie
The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Mar 24, 2007 15:48:41 EDT
DE SOTO, Mo. — Staff Sgt. Sara Robinson thought about her possible deployment to Iraq, her 1-year-old son and the computers her college no longer needs — and an idea was born.
For military parents who, like Robinson, worry about becoming strangers to their very young children, surely those computers could help provide connections to their families back home and make the separation a bit less stressful.
Jefferson College officials agreed, and on March 24, Robinson and her husband helped carry three donated computers into the De Soto National Guard Armory.
Robinson, 26, serves with the Guard’s 735th Quartermaster Company, which was recently alerted to a possible deployment. She is also a student at Jefferson College and helps manage the school’s computer lab.
When she learned the lab was to be upgraded, she asked if the school would consider donating the old computers to her unit’s Family Readiness Group, which serves as a network for families that soldiers leave behind.
Now, Allen Wamsley, the college’s director of instructional support and academic computing, now hopes to find a company to donate high speed Internet service as well as Web cams to the unit to make video conferencing possible.
Usually, the college donates surplus computers to a nonprofit, which then distributes them to other nonprofit groups. Sometimes, the computers are sold at auctions, Wamsley said.
Kathy Shepard, lead volunteer for the Family Readiness Group, gave Wamsley a certificate of appreciation March 23 shortly after he delivered the machines.
“This will give families peace of mind and soldiers’ peace of mind, because they will be able to communicate better and not have to wait for letters to arrive,” Shepard said.
Even though she is grateful for the donation of the computers, Robinson now is hoping someone will come forward to donate equipment to make video conferencing possible.
Along with being away from her young son, Paul, she probably will be separated from her husband, Sgt. Clark Robinson. He is a member of the same unit but served with psychological operations in Afghanistan from 2002 to 2003 and will not be called to serve another tour so close to his last.
“It’s a big issue to see what your son looks like or your wife looks like because they say body language is 90 percent of communication,” Clark Robinson said.
“And,” his wife added, “for the families with little kids, they will see Mommy or Daddy. And we won’t feel like strangers to them when we come back.
Ellie