What could be better than a program that takes disadvantaged youth and young adults, teaches them for a week how to build a new computer, and at the end of the program lets them take it home?

If you’re talking to the 300-plus participants who have completed the “Build It, Keep It, Share It” program over the last year, they would probably answer “not much.”

The program was developed by Mission West Virginia in order to teach pertinent job skills to young people who may not have had as many breaks as some of their fellow students. The byproducts are learning a new skill, developing increased self-confidence and having a new computer to take home and share with family and friends.

For Matthew Beamon, a Woodrow Wilson High School graduate who is attending Concord College this fall, the program was not just a novelty, but a necessity.

“My computer was older than I am,” He said during a break this summer in his week of BIKISI instruction. “This was a really big help, because the old one would take five minutes to boot up, and then only to Dos,” he said.

“If you left it on so you didn’t have to reboot, it would overheat and die anyway. I was afraid it was going to catch fire.”

This summer’s program was funded by the Regional Education Service Agency 1 (RESA1), Region 1 Workforce Investment Board and private donations and sponsorships. For their $540 contribution, businesses can provide all of the parts to build a new, AMD 2500 computer with keyboards, mice and speakers – and pay the instructors as well.

Youth enrolled in the RESA’s Youth Enrichment Services program were invited to participate, and plans are already underway to continue the program next summer.

If you would like your child to be able to participate, please contact David Rogers or Timothy Elliott at 304-523-0623. You can also email either of them at techsupport@missionwv.org. If the program is not currently being offered in your area, call your local workforce investment board or RESA and ask them if they can offer the program in your area.