Credit to Cheyenne Steed

Earning a free computer isn’t an offer people come by every day. However, St. Louis BWorks’ Earn-a-Computer program has created a program that makes it possible for kids to live out this reality.

“Every Earn-a-Computer student finds a computer that they’re excited to take home,” BWorks Program Director Evie Hemphill said.

Of course, the computer is not completely ‘free’. In order to pick out a computer, kids enrolled in the program must complete a six-week computer course, sealed with a presentation reflecting what they learned.

“Students who are enrolled learn how to manage a computer, perform computer science, etc.,” Earn-a-Computer teacher Tom Iannarelli said. “Students learn about the bits and pieces of a computer: the parts of a computer, how it works mathematically, what it represents.”

BWorks hopes that this program is able to bring a smile to kids’ faces and make online work and play just a little bit easier.

“Whenever people get to teach this class, I think that time and again, they are amazed and delighted to see how excited these kids are to take home a computer that they’re going to feel ownership of and be able to put to good use,” Hemphill said