 "Photo: Courtesy of Tonia Cochran")
Imagine growing up without computers, cell phones and other forms of modern technology and not being able to use these things when they became popular. Bridging Generations through Technology, Information, Media and Engagement is working to make this notion obsolete for the senior citizens in the Greater Columbia area.
BGTIME is an initiative that started early this year when the Central Carolina Community Foundation was chosen as one of 21 winners in the nationwide Knight Community Information Challenge. According to a recent press release, the two-year, $383,332 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation was combined with additional outside funding to create a total of over $1 million to start the program.
The goal of the program is to connect the community through technology. Students from Benedict College and the University of South Carolina work with senior citizens at one of three of the current program locations: Still Hopes Retirement Community, Oak Reed Senior Apartments and Capital Senior Center.
“The success of the BGTime project is due to a strong collaboration between our partners,” said BGTIME Project director Carolyn Holderman.
BGTIME’s partners include The James L. and John S. Knight Foundation, USC College of Mass Communication and Information Studies, Benedict College, Ifra Newsplex, The State Media Company and ETV.
“In our first year, we have trained 20 student mentors who are working with a diverse group of 40 seniors to produce content on our Web site, BGtime.org, using a number of new media tools,” Holderman said. “They are really enjoying helping the seniors express their ideas, learn new computer skills and explore the Internet. In a short time, true friendships are developing as generations converge. We are successfully Bridging Generations through Technology, Information, Media and Engagement.”
RJ Kraft, a mentor and graduate assistant in the program, said he got involved with BGTime because he thought the concept was a very worthwhile idea.
“Senior citizens have so much to contribute to society based on their life experiences and their vast perspectives, that helping them use convergent media tools as an outlet to tell those stories seemed like a great opportunity,” Kraft said.
The project is slated to continue for two more years.
“After the third year, we hope that the community’s interest will have grown to a point where the project has become sustainable,” Holderman said.
In January, the BGTime project will add a computer site at the S.C. State Library on Senate Street and another site not far from the downtown area. The program is recruiting an additional 30 student mentors and 60 senior correspondents.
“As the participant numbers grow, the stories and conversations will become more diverse and robust thus broadening our reach into our community,” Holderman said.
Both the student mentors and the seniors have benefited from their experiences with the BGTime program.
“The great thing about the program is that at the end of the day we are learning from each other,” Kraft said. “The seniors learn how to tell their stories through new media forms and we as students get the chance to see the world and past events through someone else’s eyes.”
Applications for interested students are available in the College of Mass Communications and Information Studies from Beverly Dominick or Dean Bierbauer and also online at BGtime.org. A free week of Newsplex training and a stipend are made available to participating students. Applications for interested seniors are also available at the current locations and online at BGtime.org.
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