OGDEN — In a time that has been deemed the information age, one group in Ogden is delivering the Internet free to the masses.
Ogden’s Cottages of Hope, a nonprofit agency working to help people out of financial crisis, held a ribbon cutting Wednesday for its new public computer lab, called the Prosperity Center, 2724 Washington Blvd.
Already dedicated to providing resources, counseling and classes that teach financial management to the working poor, with the Prosperity Center the agency now will be able to offer them e-mail, Internet research and computer access needed to find better jobs.
“Computer resources are the most valuable tools right now,” said Shannon Sebahar, chairwoman of the Cottages of Hope board of directors.
Speaking at the ceremony, she said having the proper computer resources will provide a path for financial stability for those who need it most.
The Department of Workforce Services in Ogden says that, on any given day, 1,400 individuals and families will come through its doors for assistance. Many find they have long waits to use a computer.
Prosperity Center volunteers hope the new lab will take away some of this pressure.
Ogden Mayor Matthew Godfrey said after 10 years of working in government, he has learned that, while government can effectively make big decisions, it has a hard time influencing individuals.
He said the center reminded him of “the ice cream at the end of a big meal,” as it is able to fill in the gaps for individuals that government could not.
“The ability to touch and reach people on an individual level is going to be the paramount battle to having individuals succeed,” he said.
He called the center a great example of what private sector groups may accomplish.
Jeremy Botelho, center executive director, said even without the computer lab, he’s been excited to see how Cottages of Hope has changed people’s lives.
He gave as an example Charles Groves, of Ogden, who came in for a budgeting class and didn’t leave until he’d taken all of the courses the organization had to offer and had discovered a way to attend Ogden-Weber Applied Technology College to get a career in computer technology.
Botelho said Groves was so grateful for the step up he received at the center that, when he learned volunteers were having problems with a computer, he took it to school with him and fixed it for free.
“He said, ‘You guys have given me so much, I want to give back to you.’ I said, ‘You are actually helping the community,’ââ” Botelho said. “Now he is looking for other ways to serve.”
Officials acknowledged many business partners and donations for help with the new Prosperity Center and also thanked Bank of Utah for becoming a major source behind the new lab.
“We were sort of looking for something like this,” said Scott Parkinson, with the Bank of Utah.
The bank donated 16 personal computers and sent employees to set them up.
Parkinson said the possibilities for financial education at the center are particularly exciting to him and his bank.
“There is a lot of pressure on banks to help customers understand finances,” he said, pointing to national governmental discussions about further regulating banks.
“Everyone knows somebody that makes a lot of money but yet they can’t handle it,” he said.
