Technology Donations Power Australian Computer Club
The Mangrove Mountain Computer Club in the central coast rural region of New South Wales, Australia offers the public a comfortable and inexpensive environment to use and learn about computers. For a small annual fee, members have access to 13 workstations with broadband Internet access. The club's facility and equipment are funded jointly by the Australian and New South Wales governments. The club offers a wide range of computer classes from basic computing to photo editing, Excel, family history research, how to sell on eBay, and more.
The club also helps the broader community on a regular basis. Members have designed flyers for a local cancer community support group, created a website for the local memorial club, and helped launch an emergency alert system. Thanks to Connecting Up Australia, TechSoup's global partner in Australia, and its DonorTec program, the Mangrove Mountain Computer Club received software and licensing for 20 copies of a Microsoft Business Vista upgrade as well as XP Pro Windows Business Server 2003. The Cisco network switch and WiFi modem and router allowed the club to provide WiFi access to members.
