Left:Community leaders including Mayor Otis Johnson, Chatham County Commission Chair Pete Liakakis, and Alderman Van Johnson join Rev. Ricky Bready, (second from right) and Toney and DaVena Jordan of AWOL in a ribbon cutting ceremony. The City of Savannah and the Savannah Development and Renewal Authority hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony Tuesday, June 9th from 4:30-6:30 at the Tremont Temple Baptist Church for the first Digital Divide Training Center along the Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard and Montgomery Street Corridor.

The first of its kind in the nation, this innovative program is bridging the digital divide by providing computer hardware, software, training opportunities and internet connectivity to those who might otherwise not have access to those resources.

The program is coordinated by SDRA with funding support through the City of Savannah and the Georgia Technology Authority through the Wireless Communities Grant Program.

Pictured left to right are: Paul Featheringill, SDRA, Matt Cruikshank, Daniel Jordan, Toney Jordan, AWOL, Ron Wallace, and Jermont Scott. To provide key components of the program, SDRA has contracted with Internet Service Provider Seimitsu, and with A.W.O.L (All Walks of Life).

Critical to the success of the program is outreach to the citizens—business owners, residents and faith based institutions along the Corridor. Key partnerships have been formed with the Housing Authority of Savannah, the MLK and Montgomery Business Association and the faith-based community to further these efforts.

Through these partnerships, in January 2009, 25 residents of Herbert L. Kayton and Simon F. Frazier Homes received free computers through the Digital Divide Program. Kicking off the training component of the program, Tremont Temple Baptist Church, located at 1110 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, is the site of the first Internet Training Center, and partner of the Infornation Technology Ministry.

As the site of the first internet training center for the Digital Divide Program, the Church received 8 new computers, a color copier, and training for their staff, members and youth to operate the center.

Dates and times for serving the general community will be published once the center training program is established.