New Horizons Un-Limited Inc. New Horizons Un-Limited Inc.
For more information, contact:
New Horizons Un-Limited
P.O. Box 510034
Milwaukee, WI 53203
Phone: (414) 299-0124
Email: horizons@new-horizons.org
This January 2014 we will celebrate the 10th Anniversary of our computer grant program for individuals with disabilities. Thanks to YOU for all YOUR support and YOUR in-kind gifts of computer equipment which have made this program possible! Thousands of pieces of computer equipment: computers, monitors, keyboards, mice, and speakers have been donated, cleaned, tested, disassembled, reassembled, and reformatted and one thousand computer workstations have been granted to people with disabilities in our community and across the state.
In 2000, in an effort to offer more computer access and computer training to individuals with disabilities who were being left behind in the age of technology, we provided our first grant of refurbished computers to an ecumenical church program. As we expanded to area disability programs and offered traveling computer workshops, the individual home computer grant appeared to be a greater opportunity for people with disabilities to develop their computer skills. In 2004, we developed our program so that each individual eligible member would be granted a refurbished computer, have the benefit of one-on-one computer training and return for computer support as needed. We offered training and access to on-line courses to improve participants’ computer skills to access employment, fill out applications, sign up for health care benefits, do school work and use Internet tools to do many other tasks we now take for granted such as e-mail and on-line banking. We continued through the years to offer repairs, upgraded computers and technical support for each individual member and their family in their journey through life. What have your technology contributions meant to the people in our community with disabilities? Due to YOUR generosity our recipients have gained much more than computer skills! Individuals with disabilities no longer isolated in their own homes, have gained confidence and become empowered, contributing members of our society. Our participants express their gratitude for offering them a technology tool and a supportive program that can help them work from home, go to school, get an education, pay bills, and connect with family and friends to "make a difference" in their lives! We would like to give you the opportunity to hear what YOUR contributions have meant to our community members with disabilities. We would like to share a few of their stories with YOU! Ginger, the first NHU recipient of a refurbished computer back in 2004, hoped to use the computer for school work. Tremors had made it difficult for her to write legibly and a computer would offer her a way, “to get me back to the land of the living.” After receiving her computer and completing school work, she wrote, “With my disability, I have had an increasingly difficult time in writing due to the tremors. Your technology program has given me the opportunity to be able to succeed in school and all of my volunteer programs. It is people like you and similar programs that make this world a better place. Thank you so much for the opportunity to succeed in going on with my life! Geraldine received her first ever home computer via NHU in 2006. Homebound, she applied with the hopes to take on-line classes and further her chances of a career. Over the years, we provided information, encouragement, and technical support whenever needed. We've upgraded her system to ensure it would meet the demands of her schooling. As she returned recently for a computer repair, she reported she is "persevering" to get her B.S. in Ministry Leadership. She believes having the computer has given her greater confidence when she goes to assist the elderly in a local home assistance program, to teach youth and to help with the choir at her local church. "I would not be where I am today without the computer equipment and the support of New Horizons Un-Limited who have offered courteous and professional help. If you become disabled at home, get a computer from NHU!” Louise received her first computer via NHU in 2008. She believed not knowing how to use a computer would have a negative effect on her life and wanted to go back to school. Recently as she returned to upgrade her program this summer, she shared, "I want to thank you for the New Horizon Un-limited refurbished computer program. This program has been an asset to me. The computer has helped me become fluent in my computer skills and continue my educational studies. Before coming to your program, I was computer illiterate. Since I have had my computer, I took a college computer course that has helped me become advanced in my knowledge about the computer and software. I have since finished my associate degree and working on the completion of my bachelor’s in Social Work. Without the computer I could not have gotten this far. Thank you for this program! It has truly been a help to me." Thanks to YOU, from our first to our most recent computer recipient, we have strived to support people with access to computers and continued to do so through their life’s journey. They have expressed our program provided better outcomes than we could have imagined. Thanks to YOU, participants have gained greater confidence, continued education, fulfillment, opportunities to succeed and become contributing members of our community. We are inspired by their perseverance and we will keep YOU abreast to see where this journey will lead them in the future!
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