Technology Lab

Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services will soon move into its new Education & Technology Center. The centerpiece of the new building is a great technology labs that can be divided into three rooms. It will provide computer literacy classes for adult and youth and will also host a Computer Clubhouse co-sponsored by Intel Corporation and the Boston Museum of Science.

Charles Coger and Shay Smith are the resident computer experts on staff who are responsible for developing curricula and class scheduling in support of the Adult Education program, the Youth Education program and coordinating with outside agencies such as the State of California Employment Development Department which uses SFBFS’ facilities for staff training.

Charles, SFBFS’ Technology Manager, is an honors graduate of TechSkills of Sacramento where he earned a diploma as an Office Administrator. In addition to this, Charles received independent certification as a Microsoft Office Master, which is the highest credential offered by Microsoft Corporation. Charles has been a SFBFS employee since 2003, and prior to that he taught computer literacy classes at a number of public and private organizations.

Shay, SFBFS’ Adult Education Technology Instructor, also graduated from TechSkills of Sacramento with honors as an Office Administrator and likewise was independently certified as a Microsoft Office Specialist. She has been a SFBFS employee since December 2010, and prior to that, she was an Adaptive Skills Trainer helping clients who had mental and behavior challenges assimilate into productive members of their communities.

A crowning achievement of our technology programs is being recognized by Intel Corporation as one of the very best of 100 Computer Clubhouses spread throughout 20 different countries. Last year two of SFBFS’ student Clubhouse members received grand prizes for their projects at the Boston Museum of Science Teen Summit and two other Clubhouse students were awarded college scholarships as a result of their academic achievements in school and their project achievements.

Congratulations to Charles and Shay for their great accomplishments and for inspiring so many children to stay in school and pursue careers in technology and encouraging the adults in their classes to become more self sufficient through computer literacy.

Submitted by Marshall Graves, Special Projects Officer