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ABOUT US
Who
We Are
The Timothy Smith Fund for "Old Roxbury"
was established on March 8, 1996 by Mayor Thomas M. Menino and the City
of Boston through the acceptance of a bequest distribution from the Timothy
Smith Fund which is held at Boston Safe Deposit and Trust Company. Ruth
and Timothy Smith directed in their last will and testament that the proceeds
of their bequest be utilized to benefit the highest number of residents
of the "old" City of Roxbury as possible.
The Timothy Smith Fund has authorized grants in excess
of $4 million to thirty-nine charitable organizations in Roxbury for the
creation of an integrated consortium of technology centers at their distinct
facilities. The Smith Fund grants are utilized by each non-profit organization
to acquire state-of-the-art computers and properly outfit each center
with computer peripherals (printers/scanners) and furnishings (workstations
and adjustable chairs). The Centers' computers are connected to an internal
network through a server and externally via the Internet. The average
center has twelve to fifteen computers, two printers, one scanner, a digital
camera and twelve to fifteen workstations and chairs.
These Centers provide in total more than I million
hours of computer access to be utilized by the Fund's non-profit partners
for a wide variety of programs including job training, educational enrichment
and open access. Funding for these activities is being provided by foundation,
corporate, and governmental agencies and through user fees. The Timothy
Smith Fund is also an endowment fund and has pledged to provide the more
than $7.5 million to $12.5 million in projected funds necessary to maintain
these Centers' state-of-the-art status for the next twenty years.
It is projected that all of these Centers will have
their technology equipment replaced every three to five years. Mr. Smith
was a well known merchant whose store was located in Dudley Square. He
was a member of the board of managers of the City Missionary Society,
a vice-president of the Roxbury Latin School and a senior deacon of the
Eliot Congregational Church of Roxbury. He and his wife of 58 years passed
away on the same day in 1918 (March 31) at the age of 83 and 80 respectively
at their home on Roxbury's Elm Hill Street.
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Mission
The Timothy Smith Network (TSN) is a member organization established to
build the capacity of Greater Roxbury’s Timothy Smith Centers. The
mission of the TSN is to increase the capacity of the Greater Roxbury
community of Boston to effectively use and access technology by providing
technology-related services, educational programs and resources as well
as strengthening and supporting the individual TSCs. As of 2008 there
are 34 active Timothy Smith Centers.
Timothy Smith Centers provide comprehensive community-based
technology services to children, adults, families, adults, and senior
citizens. Timothy Smith Centers provide open access to technology and
the Internet for many residents. The agencies in which the Timothy Smith
Centers are located address a broad range of economic, therapeutic, health,
educational, training, human and social services needs of the community.
The TSN will strengthen the Timothy Smith Centers by
assisting them to implement strategies for developing and sustaining their
operations and for improving the efficiency, scale and quality of their
programs.
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Background
The Timothy Smith Network, in partnership with various community organizations,
provides comprehensive technology services to residents of the greater
Roxbury community. People of all ages have access to state of the art
computer technology and to programs as rich in diversity as the neighborhood
the network serves. These programs build the capacity of the people of
Roxbury as they acquire the knowledge and skills critical to success in
our increasingly technology-driven world.
Since 1997, the Timothy Smith Fund, managed and funded
by the City of Boston Trust Office, has authorized grants in excessof
$4 million to 39 community-based non-profit organizations in Greater Roxbury
for the creation of computer learning and educational centers. The centers
are located in a variety of social service agencies, health centers, community
development corporations, standalone community technology centers, and
faith-based organizations throughout the Greater Roxbury area. Today there
are 34 active connunity technology centers.
All TSN sites receive technological upgrades through
the year 2019 ensuring that their equipment remains state-of-the-art.
With this as the base, the TSN is working to strengthen the TSN sites
by assisting them to implement strategies and standards for developing
and sustaining their operations and for improving the efficiency, scale
and quality of their programs. Several initiatives are underway in this
endeavor:
- The TSN administers approximately $500,000 annually
from the Timothy Smith Fund allocated for refurbishing hardware, software
and furniture in the TSN Centers.
- The TSN has developed learning standards for classes
offered at TSN Centers and is currently developing or acquiring curricula
appropriate to these objectives and to the clients we serve.
- BPL VAULT sites receive high speed Internet access,
have partnerships with local branch libraries and receive special training
in the use of BPL electronic services.
- Certification and train-the-trainer opportunities
are being provided to TSN Centers participating in the Boston Connects
Grant.
The Timothy Smith Network, Inc. became incorporated
in Massachusetts on June 5, 2003. It is recognized as a non-profit in
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the IRS as a 501(c)(3) corporation.
All TSN sites are 501(c)(3) corporations.
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Awards
2003 Champions of Freedom Archie Williams Technology Award
Freedom House, Inc. selected the Timothy Smith Network
as one of the 2003 Champions of Freedom for its work
in bridging the digital divide and in ensuring that information technology
is maintained and supported in the Roxbury Community. The TSN received
the first Archie Williams Technology Award on May 22,
2003.
2006 Microsoft Global Unlimited Potential
Awards Technology Award
On June 5, 2006, Pamela Passman, VP Global Corporate
Affairs, Microsoft Corporation., presented the TSN with a 2006
Global Unlimited Potential Award in rocognition of its "outstanding
contributions to Microsoft Community Affairs and the Unlimited Potential
Program.
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