HARTFORD, Conn., October 31, 2001 -- Trinity College’s Trinfo.Café has won the prestigious SBC National Telecommunications Partnership Gold Award for its Smart Neighborhood Initiative - a program that puts computers and computer training into the hands of area residents.

Founded three years ago with a grant from the Kellogg Foundation, Trinfo.Café was created by the college to increase the computer expertise of the surrounding neighbors. Free classes are offered in word processing, spread sheet and data base management, and in Internet navigation and web page creation. Once residents have passed all the classes, they are then eligible for a free, refurbished computer.

“We are truly honored to receive this national award,” said Smart Neighborhood Project Director Benjamin Todd. “An award like this helps to bring legitimacy to the Smart Neighborhood Project. We know we are doing good work by creating a community learning environment in an impoverished neighborhood, but it is empowering to receive national recognition for our work.”

Trinfo.Café’s purpose is to reach out to the surrounding community and bridge the digital divide. Not-for-profits, businesses, schools, and residents within a mile of Trinity College have been given free or at-cost Internet access. Residents are taking computer classes and the computer recycling center provides needed hardware for residents while it provides training for a group of high school students to become certified computer technicians.

“Trinity College students win, as well as the residents of the neighborhood,” said Todd. “The Smart Neighborhoods Projects gives students exposure to people and cultures they never would have experienced, while providing economically enhancing activities for the community.”

The SBC National Telecommunications Award is presented in conjunction with The National Association of Partners in Education. During the National Symposium on Partnerships in Education, Trinfo.Café will receive a $3,000 grant to continue its community work. The National Symposium will be held November 1, 2001 at the William A. Egan Center in Anchorage Alaska.

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