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Sea Foam: Hilton Head Island computer club continues to serve the community
Jul 06, 2009 (The Island Packet - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Thanks to Hilton Head Island Computer Club president C.S. "Pete" Everett and past president and Webmaster Jack Wilfore for sharing an update on the club as it celebrates its 20th anniversary.
With more than 850 members, it is one of the largest nonprofits in southern Beaufort County. It was founded when 11 people got together to share their experiences and help spread the word about personal computing, a relatively new concept in 1989.
At first, members helped each other, but community outreach began as soon as monthly meetings started in 1990. Volunteers soon were teaching non-credit computer classes at the Technical College of the Lowcountry, and helping Hilton Head Island High School students with computers.
Following is an overview provided by the club:
The Hilton Head Island Computer Club has a diverse membership ranging from those who used computers extensively in their corporate life to those who are new to the use of personal computers.
The club is dedicated to sharing information and knowledge about computing to meet the needs of this diverse membership; to establishing and maintaining a nurturing environment for the continuing exchange of information about computing technology; and to providing computer-related services to our local communities' service organizations. To date, 44 nonprofits have been served by the club.
An excellent example of the club's service is the assistance provided to the Volunteers in Medicine Clinic. Club members worked with VIM founder Dr. Jack McConnell to assemble two manuals to help other communities set up a clinic like the highly successful one on Hilton Head. In addition to the printed manuals, the documents were recorded on CDs for wide distribution. This has helped to establish 42 additional VIM clinics throughout the country.
Dr. Mc Connell stated, "But the thing that still remains in my mind was their willingness to be available at a moment's notice. We now have 40 VIM Clinics similar to our own, and every one of them has used the materials which the HHICC helped me develop. Without them, the task would have been orders of magnitude more difficult."
Just recently VIM requested help from the club with the future installation and implementation of a software program for the clinic leading to paperless patient records. This will be the first such software to be used by a medical clinic in the state.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Beaufort County has received extensive computer support. During the construction phase of the Boys & Girls Club on Hilton Head Island, club volunteers assisted in the assembly and installation of the computer desks in the new building. While installation of a network for administration of the computers was contracted to a professional organization, club members have provided assistance to the Boys & Girls Club staff. Early in the planning for the new club in Bluffton, computer club members provided input to the wiring, and the selection, purchase, installation and networking of the computers.
When the Programs for Exceptional People felt the need to improve record-keeping and to provide computing experiences to their clients, we provided several refurbished PCs and installed them. During the recent move of PEP to its new facilities on Oak Park Plaza, volunteers assisted with installing the computer network. Material cost for this project was paid for by the sale of a "Hints, Tips and Tricks" CD created by the club.
It is interesting to note that 12 percent of our members are part-time island residents, and that members come from 26 states, plus Canada, Germany and Great Britain.
The club has a monthly meeting that is open to the public and held at the Hilton Head Island Middle school auditorium. The program topics are of general interest given by local experts and various vendors, such as Microsoft, Corel, etc.
The Hilton Head Island Computer Club Resource Center is at the SHARE Senior Activity Center at 6 Office Way. Volunteers staff the center from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. The phone number is 843-842-4475.
The club's Web site with the latest information about club activities can be found at www.hhicc.org.
The Island Packet appreciates all written and photographic submissions from readers. All submissions become the copyrighted property of The Island Packet, which may use them for any purpose, including in print and online, without compensation to the submitter.
To see more of The Island Packet, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to
http://www.islandpacket.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Island Packet, Hilton Head
Island, S.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For
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