Early
Accommodation Difficulties
Although space for
a training room was to be made available in the Creative Centre,
the building was under renovation, and the alterations
were not expected to be completed before the end of June 2000.
During
the next three months, regular classes were held to train
members who had volunteered to become tutors, in the initial
basic introduction to computers course to be provided by the
club.
While all this was
going on, second hand computer tables and a line of 14 second
hand computers were acquired at favourable rates in readiness
for the eventual start of training.
Return to Top
Training
Commences
The Centre
renovations were not completed until September 2000 and
temporary accommodation was obtained, from early July, at
Denistone East Uniting Church, which enabled training
classes to be commenced.
Alterations to
the Creative Centre were completed sufficiently to enable
the building to be opened officially on 10 September 2000,
and CPS-E formally commenced classes in its dedicated
training room on Monday 11 September 2000.
Return to Top
Training
Sophistication Develops
By early 2001, it
had become abundantly clear that,
while the club’s decision only to provide training by way of
structured class lessons, was the most
suitable arrangement to ensure the maximum throughput of
students each week, a limit needed to be put on class sizes.
Accordingly, classes are limited to 10 students, each with a
computer, with a tutor and up to three helpers for each class.
The tutors and helpers are all volunteer members of the club.
To maximize the
number of students who could be given training each
week, lessons were restricted to 1¼ hours, two in the morning
and two in the afternoon each day, Monday to Thursday, with a
further two lesson periods on Friday morning. Friday afternoon
was devoted to tutor and helper training and discussion. This
program continued until mid 2004, when
it was decided to introduce a further class in the afternoon on
Wednesday and Thursday, to give additional flexibility.
Return to top
A
Dedicated Team of Tutors and Helpers
The club has been
blessed with a keen and conscientious group of tutors and
helpers, all volunteer members of the Club, and gradually they
have developed a
portfolio of different computer courses to
maintain the interest of members in continuing to expand their
knowledge of computing technology. The
courses are regularly reviewed and
refined and the Management Committee continually examines the
need to provide new courses to stimulate the interest of
members.
Return to Top
Management of the
Club
In the Club’s early
days, a Steering Committee of 12 volunteer members was
responsible for establishing the structure of the Club. When
the seven person Management Committee was elected, the
remaining five members of the Steering Committee were
appointed members of the Standing Committee to maintain
their
interest and influence in the development of the
Club.The Management Committee, which is subject to annual
elections, holds ultimate responsibility for the overall
management and operation of the Club, but the members of the
Standing Committee take part in all deliberations of the
joint committees.
Return to Top
Welfare
The welfare of all
members has always been of concern to the executive committee
and the appointment of a Welfare Officer, with the mission to
maintain contact with members experiencing serious or prolonged
illness, either themselves or within their immediate family,
occurred shortly after the Club commenced.
Return to Top
When CPS-E began
in 2000, membership fees approved by members were a joining fee
of $10, subscription fees of $65 single and $80 a couple per
annum with a class fee of $5 per course undertaken. The
concession rate for a couple was set at this figure with the
objective of encouraging both family members to join.
From I July 2003,
to correct the anomaly, members approved the following fee
structure :
|
Joining
fee |
|
$15 per
person |
|
Subscription fee |
|
$30 per
person per annum |
|
Class
fee |
|
$10 per
course undertaken per person |
Return to Top
Membership
At the end of
2000, the first intake of new members from the waiting list was
possible, lifting membership numbers from 180 to 206. Since then,
regular intakes of new members from the waiting list have
occurred. We follow the practice, usually at the beginning a new
term, of inviting a number of those on the waiting list to join
the membership. These new members commence lessons immediately
and start the journey towards computer literacy.
At the end of
June 2006, membership was 420. Those on the waiting list
numbered 118. As can be seen from these numbers, there has been no diminution in the interest shown
by seniors in learning about at least some of the many
fascinating facets of computer technology.
Return to Top
Grants
Received
During the
period to June 2007, a number of applications for community
grants have successfully raised in excess of $23,000, which
has all been applied, together with members funds, towards
the gradual upgrading of all the Club's original aged second
hand equipment, and the purchase of items needed to improve
the quality of the training provided to our members, and
their comfort, well being and safety.
Without the
material assistance provided by these grants and donations,
the extent and the quality of the up-to-date equipment now
enjoyed by all members would have taken substantially longer
to achieve. We therefore warmly thank the organisations
which have supported the Club so readily and so well and are
pleased to record below the grants received from each during
the past six years.
The equipment
we possess would be useless without the appropriate software
programs. The major part of the software programs used on
our equipment has been donated by Microsoft, through its
Community Assistance Initiative and Unlimited Potential
programs. Without this willing assistance from Microsoft,
the Club would have had to divert substantial funds from its
equipment upgrading projects towards the provision of the
software needs of the Club. To illustrate this point,
Microsoft recently donated software valued at in excess of
$13,000 to the Club. A major part of this value is related
to the cost of the licenses required to enable the software
to be installed on our computers.
Grants
Received to Date:
| 2001 |
Commonwealth Department of
Family and Community Services
Hornsby Shire Council |
$ 3,729
$ 1,000 |
| 2002 |
Hornsby Shire Council
North Ryde RSL Community Club
Ltd.
Ryde-Eastwood Leagues Club
Ltd. |
$ 2,000
$ 1.000
$ 2,000 |
| 2003 |
Hornsby Shire Council
North Ryde RSL Community Club
Ltd.
Ryde-Eastwood Leagues Club
Ltd. |
$ 1,000
$ 2,000
$ 1,500 |
| 2004 |
North Ryde RSL Community Club
Ltd. Ryde-Eastwood
Leagues Club Ltd. |
$ 2,000
$ 1,000 |
| 2005 |
North Ryde RSL Community Club
Ltd. Ryde-Eastwood
Leagues Club Ltd. |
$ 2,000
$ 1,000 |
| 2006 |
Hornsby Shire Council
North Ryde RSL Community Club
Ltd.
Ryde Eastwood leagues Club
Ltd |
$ 1,000
$ 1,000
$ 1,000 |
| |
TOTAL
|
$23,229 |
