The Biz Buzz - Lakewood after-school computer clubhouse expanding

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Friday, April 4th, 2008

Lakewood after-school computer clubhouse expanding

Posted by C.R. Roberts @ 11:06:00 am

Spending time on a computer after school just got better in Lakewood – thanks to Intel.

The kids who consider the Lakewood Computer Clubhouse their second home will have $40,000 in new equipment and software to help them celebrate the center's sixth anniversary next month.

A celebration of the new equipment, and the anniversary, has been scheduled from 4 to 7 p.m. on May 22 at the clubhouse, 8800 121st St. S.W., the site of the old Lake City School.

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The upgrades to the clubhouse's available technology are the result of $40,000 in grants from the Intel Foundation and Intel Corp. to the Pierce College Foundation, the clubhouse's parent organization. The grants will be used to fund upgrades in new game design, role playing, animation and music software, electric guitars, amplifiers and digital drums for the clubhouse's “garage band” recording area, plus a new server, video equipment, and tablet-style computers for use in art projects and design.

The ingredients in the grant came as the result of input from the teenagers who use the clubhouse frequently, says Kurt Sample, coordinator.

“The teen members helped me draft the list,” he said. “I've always run the clubhouse so that we all have an equal stake in this. The kids really respect that, so it was important to get their input. These are the things they wanted and the things they're interested in learning.”

This summer, clubhouse members will take their new video equipment into the neighborhoods of Lakewood to produce documentary-style films on the distinct characters of those neighborhoods and the young people who live in them.

The Lakewood clubhouse is free and open to all children ages 10 to 18. Operating hours are typically from 2:30 to 7 p.m. on weekdays. For more information, visit the Web site at www.pierce.ctc.edu/clubhouse or call (253) 583-5599.

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Marce Edwards is the business editor. She has been at The News Tribune for seven years and has written about technology and big businesses in the South Sound including Weyerhaeuser and Russell. Before moving to Tacoma, she worked at The Idaho Statesman in Boise. She is a Northwest native who likes to garden and refuses to use an umbrella. She lives in Tacoma with her husband and two kids.

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Kelly Kearsley has been a business reporter at The News Tribune since 2005. She covers the Port of Tacoma and international trade. Being born and raised in Spokane she’s used to living in cities with inferiority complexes and, in fact, prefers it. Prior to working at The News Tribune, she spent three years as a reporter for The Bulletin in Bend, Oregon and another year working stints for The Associated Press and Seattle Times. She graduated from Pacific Lutheran University. She lives in Tacoma with her husband and miniature schnauzer.

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