============================================================================= Information Item Program to develop membership by assisting senior citizen groups to establish Internet clubs Christopher L. Cope Executive Director execdir@freenet.carleton.ca June 10, 1998 =========================================================================== Senior citizens are discovering the Internet and particularly E-mail in increasing numbers. Many however, are overwhelmed by the technology, and speak of the inability of commercial ISPs to provide them with an appropriate level of instruction and handholding to enable them to use this resource. On the other hand, many seniors have considerable time to spend, and a strong sense of social responsibility. I read recently in a study about volunteerism within USA freenets that seniors hold a disproportionately high percentage of volunteer positions. The report said that seniors make up some 20% of the membership, but do 80% of the volunteer work. Seniors, are also more likely to value the services NCF offers and may be more likely to donate to the organization in both volunteer time and money. At a recent church-sponsored garage sale, we (Natalie Munro and Miranda Gray) learned just how interested seniors are. Dozens of seniors asked questions and wanted to know more. Promoting membership within this segment of our market is an opportunity we can profit by. What seniors need the most is help. What NCF is very good at, is exactly that. Since Day One, we have fostered programs which help newcomers to the Internet and we've done it in a friendly way. The following proposal, describes a program wherein we can deliver this help to groups of seniors, in a way that will self perpetuate. The objective will be to establish "Internet clubs" at places where seniors live or meet. Any place where seniors get together frequently, or where there is an existing facility which lends itself to such activity could be a target. Examples might be: Large Seniors Residences: Such as Abbottsford House Senior Citizens Residence (it's also a dropin centre for seniors). Natalie Munro is already working on establishing a connection here. Seniors Dropin Centres: Such as the Dayton Centre at Carlingwood Specialized Senior Centers: Such as Good Companion's Senior's Centre Community Resource Centers: Such as The Olde Forge, where the facility lends itself particularly well to this type of activity. (Michael Mason is looking into this) Step 1 ~~~~~~ The first step will be to establish an inventory of possible centres and make initial contact with the administrators of the prospect site. I propose that this step be something done by staff (me). I plan in fact, to start with the four specific examples listed above. With the assistance of the site's administrators, a group meeting will be arranged. Step 2 ~~~~~~ This stage would involve a small team of perhaps two volunteers per site, who will visit and make a presentation to the group. A possible format would include perhaps 45 minutes to 1 hour discussing what an Internet club could be all about, as well as showcasing E-mail, Internet and WWW and FreeNet's approach. We should be clear that we intend to support the club as long as we are needed and it would be ideal if the specific volunteer team would see the project through at each centre. In the second part of the meeting, perhaps chaired by a resident or an administrator from the center, a few simple basics of the club could be decided such as time and place for subsequent meetings or presentations. In some cases it may be possible to actually start to establish a steering committee to assist with organizing the group. The third part of the presentation could be used for doing on-line registrations. During this stage, a general question and answer session could continue. A PC with a decent size screen might be preferable to a laptop. A convenient electrical power and a telephone connection would be required and we would need to be equipped with forms, auto-install software, brochures etc. Finally, our volunteer team could make arrangements or appointments, based on their own availability, group needs etc. to physically visit one or more of the new members and one-by-one, to help them set-up their own systems; install software; adjust configuration; teach Internet software etc. Step 3 ~~~~~~ The specifics of Step 3 will change with each group, but basically I envision commencing a series of regular meetings at each centre. The group will decide how often meetings should occur, but I suspect that as often as weekly (or more) might be sensible. Each meeting will be similar to the first meeting, except that the FreeNet presentation will become more and more a "how to" session rather than a sales pitch or an orientation session. On-line registration should continue to be a part of the process as long as it's needed. As each group matures, our original volunteer team would help them learn to use the Internet, help them through the organizing process and help them towards self sufficiency. In addition to hands-on training, we will teach the new members how to use our on-line help services and how to network among themselves and other FreeNet members to fully explore the FreeNet community. Throughout this period, our initial team will need to be on the lookout for their own replacements. They will recruit and train trainers from within the club's membership, to take over the role of FreeNet volunteer and hands-on trainer. Finally, our original team can step away from the club, with the new FreeNet volunteers taking over. -- *** Christopher L. Cope, Executive Director *** National Capital Freenet / Libertel de la Capitale nationale tel. (613) 520-2600 ext. 8024 -or- fax (613) 520-3524