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Students, parents amazed by gifts
By WAVENEY ANN MOORE, Times Staff Writer ST. PETERSBURG -- Cradling precious cargo -- computers painstakingly refurbished for their use -- children from the Childs Park neighborhood and their parents were all smiles Saturday as they reveled in their good fortune. "I'm going to save my money to get some speakers and maybe some games and maybe when I'm 14, my mom might get me the internet," said an excited Antwon Hill, 13, as he waited to take home his first computer. "It's a miracle," is the way Irma Daniels described the gift from the after school program run by United Methodist Cooperative Ministries. She said it was a happy surprise to learn that instead of getting one computer to share, her two children, David, 12, and Dala, 11, would each get one of their own. David and Dala were among seven students in the ministries' program chosen to receive rebuilt computers last weekend. Donna Ratzlaff, executive director of the agency, said selection was based on academic need, achievement during this past year's tutorial program and students' inability to acquire computers of their own. Saturday's giveaway was a happy end to what began as a sad tale early this year. In February, thieves broke into the church offices in the fellowship hall of the former Child's Park United Methodist Church, 3940 18th Ave. S, and stole computers and other equipment belonging to the after school program. Word of the burglary, which disrupted the afternoon studies for neighborhood children, galvanized several companies and individuals to donate used computers for the program. After its computer lab was re-established, the remaining equipment was cobbled together to make usable computers that could be given away to students who needed them. Ms. Ratzlaff praised volunteer Rafal Dziokan, 26, an out-of-work computer specialist, who helped make the giveaway possible. "He was referred to us by another social services agency for possible volunteer work. He really has a deep passion and love for working with computers and for working with people. He decided that while he was looking for work, it would be a real waste not to use the skills he had," Ms. Ratzlaff said. "He came along to us at a time when we had our break-in," she said. "He helped us get back in operational order. After we got our needs for the kids taken care of, he and I thought it would be neat if we could take these computers, fix what could be fixed, harvest parts and put together computers for kids who were high achievers who did not have a computer at home. So, that's what he did. He spent hours going through these and putting together these computer sets." Dziokan, a Polish immigrant, said he did it "for the kids." "It is paying off for me to see someone happy....And seeing the kids having those big eyes," he said. "I hope in the future," Ms. Ratzlaff said, "we can find in St. Petersburg some other people with technical skills who can help us continue to do the same thing as people give us computers." Saturday morning, Dziokan good naturedly demonstrated to the children and their parents how to hook up and operate the computers once they got them home. Michael Davis, 10, who attends North Shore Elementary School, was one of the children who got a computer last weekend. His mother, Cadeen Johnson, 27, smiled as she talked about the unexpected gift. She is unemployed and a single parent with two younger children, Ms. Johnson said, and would not have been able to afford a computer for her son. "He's been wanting his own," she said. Ms. Daniels, one of the other mothers, said she and her children had talked about buying a computer, but it seemed like an impossible dream. "We started saving for it, but other things came up: the car, the refrigerator," said Ms. Daniels, who is a data entry clerk at Boca Ciega High School. Then came news that the after school program she has sent her children to since first grade would fulfill the family's dream. "I guess," Ms. Daniels said, "this is the way the Lord wanted it to be. It's indeed a blessing." The computer giveaway, said Ms. Ratzlaff, has given her "a real feeling of success, a real feeling of pride." "Here is something that can help parents get connected with their child in learning, because using the computer is something they can do together," she said. "That's been one of our goals in our program and concerns," she said. " How do you get parents connected in lifelong learning with their children? Just seeing them together Saturday, focusing on a common thing, was pure joy."
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From the Times South Pinellas desks Letters |
