ROOTS youth help Nevin Taylor learn how to use the Internet

The Servite Center for Life is sponsored by the Catholic order of the Servants of Mary. As an interfaith ministry rooted in the Servite traditions, the Center seeks to inspire the people of northern Wisconsin and to promote greater understanding of and respect for spirituality in its many forms. The Center's work is rooted in the four core values of God, hospitality, respect and collaboration.

As a MIRA CSO, the Center wanted to create a connection between the senior citizens of rural communities with the local youth. The Center hoped that the senior citizens and the youth could converse via computer, as well as face-to-face, with the youth about the values and beliefs that lie at the core of rural life.

In order to reach their goal the Reaching Out Over Technology to Share (ROOTS) project was created. The project has four goals. The first was to create connections among the Servite Center for Life, youth, senior citizens, and the general population of the community. The second was to facilitate a process for youth and senior citizens to interact via technology. The third was to give a voice to senior citizens. The final goal was to help youth discover a sense of connection with their community through shared values.

The first step the Center took towards reaching their goals was to set up computer and Internet access at eight senior citizen centers. Computer hardware and software was ordered and installed at each site by a CESA #11 computer technician. The CESA #11 technician also made the arrangement for an Internet connection to be made at each site. Next the senior citizen centers were matched with students in local school districts. These students received computer and Internet training and then provided training to the senior citizens. The final phase of the project was for the students and senior citizens to converse, via electronic messaging, with each other on the topic of values. However, technological difficulties, time constraints, and lack on consistent on-site support made this part of the project difficult to complete as part of the MIRA program.

The MIRA program did help create connections between the Wisconsin CSOs and CCTs. When the funding for the Internet connections at the senior sites ran low, a member of the CESA #11 CSO wrote a grant through the Marshfield Medical Research Foundation, another CSO, and the senior site's Internet connections found funding for an additional year. Other Wisconsin CSOs and CCTs have become involved with the ROOTS projects in different ways as well. Thanks to continued interest and funding, the ROOTS project will continue on into another school semester. During this time, the third phase of the project, the conversations on values between the senior citizens and the students, will be carried out.

The ROOTS project has seen positive outcomes within the communities. When the project first started, the senior citizen center directors were reluctant to be involved. Now, six of the eight centers have decided to keep their computers and some are even expanding their technology resources. Several centers have or will purchase printers and one center has designated a back room as a computer lab, where they now house a dozen donated computers. Furthermore, three participating classrooms have seen relationships grow between the students and the senior citizens and are committed to maintaining the connection into the next year.