iFoster Offers Deeply Discounted Computers to Help Our Most At-Risk Children Stay In School

TRUCKEE, Calif., Aug. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, iFoster announced the addition of discounted computers to its online marketplace for foster care. The Get Connected! program provides high-quality, low-cost computers and training for its foster, adoptive and kinship care community to help our most at-risk children stay in school. For as low as $160, the price of the software alone, members can purchase refurbished business-class laptops or desktops that include Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Basic Office 2007, Microsoft Security Essentials, Microsoft Live Essentials, shipping, online training and virtual tech support. Caregivers and youth in foster, adoptive and kinship care can access Get Connected! at www.ifoster.org.

Serita Cox, co-founder of iFoster, commented, "The U.N. has declared access to the Internet a fundamental human right. Yet half of the children in foster care in the U.S. do not have consistent Internet access at home. iFoster makes computer access and literacy a reality for all children and caregivers in foster care."

Fewer than 50% of children in foster care have consistent access to computers and the Internet at home resulting in below average academic performance, the need for special education services, and a dropout rate of 46%, the highest of any youth population. Get Connected! provides children in foster care with the tools they need to succeed and improve their lives.

Over 4 million children in the U.S. are raised without their parents due to safety issues including abuse, violence and neglect. These children are placed in a foster care system that is under-funded and stretched too thin. Over 80% of children who do not find permanency end up living in poverty, prison, homeless or as struggling young parents.

To help buy a computer for a child in foster care who cannot afford one, donations can be made at www.ifoster.org.

About iFoster

iFoster is a  non-profit that seeks to improve the lives of all children in foster care. Our programs are available for free at www.ifoster.org to members of the foster care community, from caregivers (foster/guardian/kinship/adoptive families), to the youth who have emancipated out of the system, and the organizations that support them. The iFoster community directly supports more than 750,000 children in foster care nationwide, and is growing by over 100,000 children supported each month.

Contact:
Reid Cox, Co-Founder
[email protected]
530.414.3393

SOURCE iFoster