Program Overview
Mission Statement
The DePauw University Community Technology Enhancement Program (CTEP) is a DePauw University affiliated organization which empowers members of the Putnam County community with new means to learn, communicate, and explore. CTEP's primary objective is to proactively address the inequities of a growing digital divide in the greater Putnam County region. The program values providing quality, community-oriented services through distributing refurbished computers to qualifying organizations and individuals in need, community workshops, and Internet resources.
Basic Operations
CTEP collects donations of used computers from DePauw University, local schools, and the surrounding community. Members of the program then test the equipment, ensure hard drives have been cleaned of old information, and install operating systems and various other software programs. Computers are then distributed to qualifying organizations and individuals in the local community for only a minor fee. Along with computers, CTEP also accepts and redistributes printers, scanners, and other computer peripherals.
Partners in Service
CTEP is a DePauw University sponsored program administered by university faculty, staff, and students and local high school interns as part of the university's 361° initiatives. In the summer of 2004, CTEP was accepted to the Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher Program which provides Microsoft Windows operating systems for the computers donated by CTEP.
Beginning in the summer of 2005, CTEP is partnering with the Family, Youth & Community Development Center to serve the families and children on the south end of Greencastle. CTEP is maintaining a community lab at the center which will host learning workshops. The center will also host refurbishing workshops where students will learn to prepare their own computer to be taken home at the completion of the workshop.
In May 2005, a CTEP partnership with 4Community, an initiative of the United Way of Putnam County, was awarded a $1,000 grant from the TechPoint Foundation to encourage enrollment among Putnam County children in 21st Century Scholars. Sixteen newly-enrolled students will be selected in the Fall 2005 semester to receive a computer from CTEP. The students will also participate in a series of workshops designed increase technological literacy.
International Outreach
CTEP is also committed to extending a helping hand to the international community. DePauw Winter Term in Service groups have transported CTEP-prepared computers to programs in Ecuador and Costa Rica.
Environmental Consciousness
Refurbishing computers is an excellent way to put used but still viable equipment in the hands of those who might not otherwise be able to experience their benefits. Recycling computers is an important way to protect the environment. Computers contain dangerous toxins which if not properly disposed, may leak into the groundwater. CTEP advocates the environmentally-safe disposal of all computer equipment than cannot be reused.