|
|
|
An Information Technology
Christmas*
By Cathy
Gonzalez, EIS Training, Communications, and Administration Manager
Some of us celebrate the Christmas season and
others of us do not; however, December is known as the month of
thoughtful deeds and gift exchange. For many people a
Christmas wish list emphasizes technology and the latest electronic
gizmo; you begin the search for the ultimate Christmas gift.
Recently I began thinking of a different spin on how the holiday
season and the topic of gift giving relate to the computing/IT
world. What would it be like if you could give a gift that
taps into your skill set and is not a drain on your bank account?
The following examples help provide an answer:
A story was published in a Seattle newspaper about a man, named
Mark, who had made a trip to Mexico and saw an old man on the
street, sitting behind a card table that bore a sign: "escritor
público" (“public writer”).
Mark did not think much more about the old man until he was downtown
at lunchtime one day and happened past a homeless lady standing by a
mailbox. She asked Mark if he could spare a stamp; she had
made a birthday card for a friend out of old newspaper and wanted to
mail it but had no envelope or stamp. He took the letter and
mailed it for her at his own expense. The next Saturday found
Mark sitting behind a card table at the Urban Rest Stop in downtown
Seattle, helping homeless men and women find the words to tell their
loved ones how they are, where they are — and perhaps who they wish
they could be. On his table he had placed a laptop and portable printer, a stack of paper and stamped
envelopes, and a bowl of Hershey's kisses to break the ice. "We are
in one of the most wired cities in the country," Mark was quoted,
"and here are these homeless people wandering around without the
means." The chair in front of his story table didn’t stay empty
long. Folks come in for a shower or some laundry. Then they spotted
Mark, read his sign ("Want to write a letter?") and pause.
On a more personal note, when my son met his future in-laws for
the first time, they were assigned to a Salvation Army shelter in a
small Texas town. A small group of networked computers was
available in the shelter to assist with job skills training.
For seven months the network had not been working and half of the
workstations consistently crashed. No technical support person
could be found that would service the computers for the amount of
money available in the shelter’s budget. In 4 hours my son had all
of the machines working and network accessible. My son is not
big on celebrating the holiday season but his gift of sharing his IT
skills made it possible for many people to feel hope at this time of
year.
A friend of mine started a volunteer program spending two
Saturdays a month at retirement homes helping senior citizens use
email services to communicate with loved ones not living close by.
My friend guides the residents through logging in to their email and
reading the nuggets of love that reside in each mailbox. Then
time is taken to type replies for the stiff, arthritic fingers that
can no longer navigate a keyboard. Often the resident proudly
says “I want to click the mouse on Send” and exclaim in a surprised
voice to the next resident waiting in line about the amazing fact “I
sent this for free!”
One of my fondest memories in my early days of administering
networks and supporting desktops was configuring a lab over several
Saturdays that was to be used for job
skills training. The recipients of the training were victims
of domestic violence. Once I saw the immense appreciation of
the lab’s users, I volunteered to participate in the instructional
effort needed in the lab. Self-esteem rose as computing skills
increased.
By now I’m sure you are getting the picture of how an IT
Christmas really can happen. The best part is these gifts last
much longer than December. For some people, they are life
experiences that will never be forgotten. What do you have
hidden in your computing skill set that would make a wonderful gift
for someone? Once you find it, wrap it up with sincerity and
commitment, then deliver it with a smile.
It will cost you far less but be worth much more than anything you
will find at Best Buy or CompUSA!
* If this sounds a little familiar to you,
it is an updated version of an article we printed in
2004. Good stories are timeless, of course ... -- Ed.
Return to top |
