Cyndy Loomis, CEO of ISF, Inc., is the community liaison for the Children’s Home Society (CHS) North Central Division’s Tech Success program, established to bring disadvantaged youth the opportunity to learn valuable professional and IT skills that can set them up for future success in the workplace.
CHS works throughout the region to connect youth in Leon, Wakulla, Jefferson, Franklin, Madison, Liberty, Taylor, and Gadsden with the skills and services they need to move forward successfully in life. In the Microsoft YouthSpark Program, provided through CHS’s Tech Success, students are provided online training and tutorials for a range of basic IT-related skills, including the following:
- Computer Basics and Digital Lifestyle
- Internet, Websites, Cloud Service
- Office Suite: Word, Excel, PowerPoint
Students also have access to achievement-based incentives, subject-matter experts, and career-ladder guidance. Through this program, at-risk youth not only have the ability to gain valuable workplace skills, but they are also empowered to envision a future for themselves that will allow them to achieve success and stability in their adult lives, after growing up in circumstances that are often less than ideal.
Technology access and skills are critical to success in the current educational and working environments. Not only are the basic IT-related skills taught through the YouthSpark program important for job success, with knowledge of Microsoft applications ranking third in the top 20 in-demand skills for high-growth, high-paying careers, for example, but nearly half of the poorest households in the United States do not even own a computer. In this environment, the work that Tech Success does to bridge this technology gap through opportunity, training, and guidance is increasingly important and valuable for those it benefits, from students to their future employers and families.
In her position as CEO of ISF. Inc., Ms. Loomis knows what makes a successful IT professional. Through her generous donation of time, money, and guidance provided as the CHS Liaison for the Tech Success program, she is able to help the Children’s Home Society to open wide the door to success for more at-risk youth in the Big Bend area. By leveraging a community leadership committee, Ms. Loomis’s goal is to enroll 125 students in Tech Success by July 2017.