PHOTO BY MIKE PANDUREVIC

June 29, 2023; Grand opening and ribbon cutting for the Digital Connected Learning and Retail Community Center, 9926-9928 Lorain Avenue: (L-R): Westown Community Development Corporation Director Rose Zitiello, Founder and Executive Director of Ashbury Senior Computer Community Center (ASC3) Wanda Davis, Ohio Director of PC’s For People Bevin Bowersmith, and Ward 11 Councilman Danny Kelly.

(Plain Press, October 2023) On June 29^th, 2023, Westown Community Development Corporation (WCDC) joined with Ashbury Senior Computer Community Center (ASC3) and PC’s for People to celebrate the opening of a Digital Connected Learning and Retail Community Center at 9926 Lorain Avenue. The building for the new center was acquired by WCDC and restored with support from the City of Cleveland Economic Development Department.

   WCDC Executive Director Rose Zitiello says the new center helps meet a priority for increasing digital connectivity set by the Cuyahoga County Office of Innovation and Performance. The three-mile radius around the new Digital Connected Learning and Retail Community Center has some census tracts where less than 60 percent of households are connected to the internet and some census tracts where only 60 to 80 percent of households are connected to the internet. In addition, in this area near the new center, 48% of the housing units are occupied by families with children and 61% of the residents are living in low- or moderate-income households.

   With operating support from the Cleveland Foundation, Wanda Davis, Executive Director of ASC3, will manage the new digital community center. Davis says ASC3 has worked to close the “Digital Divide” and foster the movement of “Digital Inclusion” on Cleveland’s East Side for two decades!  To date, ASC3 has trained more than 8,000 residents in Greater Cleveland, offering a variety of free services and digital literacy classes from basic to advanced skills in areas including email, internet navigation and online safety, health, and financial literacy.

   The new center also includes a retail storefront for PCs for People, a national nonprofit working to get low-cost quality computers and internet into the homes of individuals, families, and nonprofits with low income. By recycling and then refurbishing computers, PCs for People provides a valuable service to businesses, families, and the planet by keeping computers out of landfills and repurposing them to advance digital inclusion.

   Since 1998, PCs for People has become a national leader in digital inclusion by serving over 520,000 individuals, providing 190,000 home computers, connecting 77,000 households to the internet, and responsibly recycling over 9 million pounds of electronic waste through the secure e-waste recycling service. To learn more visit www.pcsforpeople.org.

   “PCs for People is excited to partner with ASC3 and Westown Community Development Corporation to bring a retail location to the West Side,” said Bevin Bowersmith, Ohio Director at PCs for People. “ASC3 has a demonstrated history bridging the digital divide in our community, and it is a natural relationship to join forces and continue to work toward our collaborative mission of connecting individuals and families to crucial technology, support and digital skills.”

   The Center’s location borders some of the census tracts on the West Side of Cleveland – Tracts 1016.03, 1023 and 1024.02 — which have some of the highest numbers of households that are not connected to the internet.  These census tracts include the area near the Center both north and south of Lorain Avenue.  The poverty rate in these census tracts ranges from 31% to 49%.

   ASC3 will offer Free Digital Learning classes for beginners and advanced on Mondays through Thursdays from 10:00 AM till 6PM; on Fridays from 10AM till 4PM; & on Saturdays from 11AM till 4PM. To Register stop in during open hours, call 216-421-2305, email info@asc3.org or visit their website at www.asc3.org.