Technology will help education, literacy efforts

Alabama Power is donating 40 iPads to four charitable and educational institutions to help with their education, literacy and outreach efforts.

Children’s Hospital in Birmingham, the Birmingham Public Library, the Montgomery City-County Library and the Mobile Public Library will each receive 10 iPads. Children’s Hospital plans to use the iPads primarily in its Child Life department as an educational, recreational and communication tool for patients and their parents. The Birmingham, Montgomery and Mobile libraries will use the iPads to teach library users and children about technology and the expanding world of electronic books, among other educational projects.

“It is important to keep our patients comfortable and focused on things other than illness or injury,” said Coke Matthews, chief development officer at Children’s Hospital. “These iPads will help our kids recover and keep in touch with their communities. We are grateful to Alabama Power for their generosity and partnership.” 

“The Birmingham Public Library is extremely excited to be the beneficiary of this donation from Alabama Power,” said Irene S. Blalock, library director. “The donation of these iPads provides a platform on which BPL can offer a new level of training and program opportunities to the communities we serve. In addition to using the technology to train our staff, we will also use the iPads to produce new programs for our teens and senior audiences.”

The donation of the iPads was announced today during the “Playtime Extravaganza” carnival at Children’s Hospital. The carnival was the closing event of the Extravaganza, which provided four days of fun activities for children at the hospital. The Extravaganza was organized and funded with help from the Alabama Power Service Organization.

The Montgomery City-County Public Library plans to use the iPads at several branches, where patrons would be able to check out the devices for use within the library’s facilities, said Director Jaunita Owes. “One of the goals would be to help level the playing field between those who can afford to buy this new technology and those who can’t,” Owes said. She said the iPads will also be helpful in training more library staff on the technology so they, in turn, can train more library users. 

At the Mobile Public Library, the staff is exploring several educational uses for the iPads, including incorporating them into a study hall program for students, and using them in the library’s successful gaming and arts programs for children.

“As a company with a strong focus on engineering and technology, and one which has long supported efforts to improve education and literacy in the state, we’re pleased to provide these educational tools to these important institutions,” said Leigh Davis Perry, Alabama Power’s vice president for Charitable Giving. 

Alabama Power, a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE:SO), provides reliable, affordable electricity to more than 1.4 million customers across the state.

The Alabama Power Service Organization (APSO) is an independent, nonprofit organization with 10 chapters across the state. More than 4,000 APSO volunteers typically contribute more than 75,000 hours of community service each year.

To learn more about Alabama Power’s community and education initiatives, and the Alabama Power Service Organization, visit www.alabamapower.com and click on “Community.”