Happy October!!

I hope everyone is excited for the tricks and treats of Halloween! With the program now fully underway, it is time to share our resources, ideas and success stories with the rest of the province. Each month the newsletter will feature different CAP sites from around the province to help celebrate achievements made through CAP and to inspire other sites to create fun and interesting programs. Make sure you are also checking out the resources available on the Cybercamp Wiki and posting your questions and comments to the Webboard. ENJOY! :)

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As CAP gets off the ground in many networks it is in full swing for Kristy Hankilanoja at the Ontario March of Dimes in Thunder Bay. If she had to pick one word to sum up her experiences thus far it would be: exciting! She is quickly learning that the possibilities are endless, a prospect that is so exciting in itself. There are an endless number of subjects that can be explored through cybercamps and individual training sessions. There are so many different approaches she can take as she attempts to inform the community about the services her CAP site offers. And, there are so many individuals they can reach out to and assist in increasing their skills and confidence as they encourage them to explore technology.

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And we have another story from Heather Wilson, one of Elgin County’s CAP YI. She works in two of the libraries and is much busier than what she expected she would be in this position! Her Cybercamps have yet to be extremely successful, but the ones who have come out have really enjoyed themselves. She finds that the younger kids just want to come in and play games on the computer since most of them have been using computers since a very young age and know how to navigate around different programs and the internet already. She finds that she is getting the most satisfaction out of my one-on-one computer lessons. That region, along with the rest of the province, has been hit hard by the recession and many people have found themselves out of work. People have come in to write up resumes and to get an email account so that they can send out resumes to apply to jobs. She has helped many people write resumes using Career Cruising and helped many people find jobs through Service Canada Job Bank. Both of these programs are found on our Public Library’s homepage in the Online Research reference tools http://www.elgincounty.ca/ElginCounty/CulturalServices/Library/default.php.

She gets such a great feeling knowing that she has helped someone get back on their feet.

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Joe Preston, MP of Elgin-Middlesex-London, visited the Springfield Library with "Joe On The Road" on Thursday, October 15, 2009 from 4-7 PM. The library was a busy spot with people from all age groups coming to talk to their MP with their concerns within the community. Many curious children came in with lots of government-related questions for Mr. Preston and the staff was able to provide Joe Preston with his very first Elgin County Library Card. Overall, it was a great experience for Carly R. Quigg and the library and provided a great advertising opportunity for CAP. You can learn more about Joe Preston here.

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And for the young (and young at heart), Brandee Blanchard of the Rodney Public Library, held a Toy Story cybercamp for the recent 3-D release of Toy Story in theatres. There were five kids that came to her cybercamp. When the children arrived there, they searched the library for pictures of Toy Story characters, then they printed off pictures and coloured them in. Some participants printed and coloured more than one. They were able to keep the pictures that they had to find and were also given a goodie from the goodie box. They then played games on the Internet and searched the web for Toy Story facts. Some even found out the birthday of Tim Allen, who is the voice of Woody in the movie! When the librarian asked them if they had fun, they said it was so much fun. And they "awed" when they found out that it was over!

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Have a success story? Take a minute to share the great programs that are taking place at your CAP site with the rest of Ontario, send your stories and photos to your Regional Co-ordinator. Stories and ideas will be shared, space permitting, in the upcoming Newsletters.

Find a great resource? Share it with your Regional Co-ordinator.