Welcome to Cristina Connections
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From the Desk of Scot Henley
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Dear Friend of NCF,
As seasons change and summer approaches, we all continue to navigate carefully through these unprecedented times. A noteworthy constant, present before COVID-19 and dramatically exposed over these last few months, is
digital inequity
. And even as we move back to work, school and other activities of our daily lives, the challenges of the
digital divide
will be with us for a long time to come.
To participate meaningfully in a digitally-connected society, everyone needs an internet-connected computer and the skills to use it. Right there with shelter, food, water, and electricity, one could argue that it’s a
basic need in today’s economy.
It’s the key to education, employment, communication, finance, health, information, and so much more. The gulf between the haves and have-nots is
heartbreaking
.
National Cristina Foundation is evolving to become much more active in solving this ongoing problem. We have expanded and diversified our Board of Directors, we’re in the process of enhancing our staff team, and we have begun working more aggressively to build deeper national awareness of digital inequity. We’ll also be releasing a report on the digital inclusion landscape in early summer. This will help us to design programs and resources that will
strengthen our work to close the digital divide across the country
.
We look forward to tackling this challenge together.
All the best,
Scot Henley
Executive Director
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Nationwide Drive for Computer Donations
The
Donate Technology
campaign release appeared over 127 different varieties of national press that included MarketWatch, Yahoo Finance and the Chicago Daily Herald, to name a few. The drive continues to actively generate donation inquiries and interest in the mission of
National Cristina Foundation.
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A snapshot of COVID-19 efforts over the past 6 weeks*
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Providing Access to School
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Devices Distributed:
21,636 computers
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People Served:
80% Students
20% Adults
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Increase in Requests
:
1566% over norm
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Top Donation Needs:
#1 - Laptops
#2 - Hotspots
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Avail Inventory:
Less than a month
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*These reported numbers are for a sub-set of AFTRR members; the above totals do not encompass the entire Cristina Network of Practitioners for either number of people served or devices distributed. AFTRR.org is a program of the National Cristina Foundation.
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SMB Nation with Harry Brelsford
SMBNation
is an events and media (news, magazine, and commentary) company for the SMB IT professional, VAR, MSP, and SMB channel, and represents more than 49,000 organizations within their online community.
National Cristina Foundation
was featured in the following two News Shorts:
- March 20, 2020 - This segment featured the NCF nationwide drive for computer donations as breaking news during the COVID-19 pandemic. Scot Henley and Susan Krautbauer were interviewed by founder and media mogul Harry Brelsford. Watch the replay here.
- May 7, 2020 - As a follow up to the March 20th interview, SMB Nation did deeper dive into the NCF mission with Scot and Susan, and featured AFTRR member Dan Bartholomew from Free Geek. Watch the replay here.
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Northwest Digital News with Kevin Hunter
NorthWest Digital News
is the premiere site for News, Information, Business, Technology, Food, Crime & Personal Safety, Health & Wellness, Real Estate Savvy, The Business Forum Show, and Personal Improvement in the Pacific NorthWest, with 9 live shows per week.
National Cristina Foundation
was featured in a Tech Tuesday segment.
- May 17, 2020 - Featuring the NCF nationwide drive for computer donations, as well as shared front line stories from AFTRR practitioner Free Geek. Scot Henley, Susan Krautbauer and Dan Bartholomew were interviewed by host Kevin Hunter. Watch the replay here.
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MSP Tech Talk Conference - Spring 2020
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May 14, 2020.
National Cristina Foundation
was invited to participate on a panel discussion addressing remote management, BYOD, end of life for devices and discuss how donations can play an important part in the full technology lifecycle. In addition to Scot and Susan, panelists included Gary Wicka from LG as well.
Watch the replay here.
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National Cristina Foundation Welcomes Senior Director of Strategy and Development
Susan Krautbauer has joined NCF as the Senior Director of Strategy & Development.
In this new role, Krautbauer’s mission will be to grow the capacity and impact of National Cristina Foundation as a leading voice for digital inclusion efforts across the nation, so that people in need can participate fully in a digitally connected world.
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