When ASU student Michael Evans saw an elderly man struggling to learn to use a computer to keep in touch with relatives, he got an idea.
Evans, a computer information systems senior, enlisted the help of two other ASU students to begin a volunteer program that teaches Tempe residents -- many of them senior citizens -- how to use computers.
The city gave them a Group Project Award on Thursday during an annual event held to honor local volunteers.
"They have done an amazing job helping the library bridge the digital divide in the community," said Mary Anna Bastin, Tempe's head volunteer coordinator who presented the award. "They're our digital angels."
Computer information systems junior Chris Cooley volunteers with Evans to teach computer skills.
"We go over fundamental things, so it's pretty easy to get a grasp on them, and they do," Cooley said. "They walk out knowing a little bit more than they did when they came in."
For most people who sign up for the classes taught at the Tempe Public Library, learning the skills necessary to use a computer is the easy part, said ASU student volunteer Kyle Watson, a computer information systems junior.
"They are afraid of the computer when they come in," he said. "They don't want to break it or screw it up."
The trio, who are all members of the Decision Information Systems Club -- a campus group that helps student clubs to establish Web sites and gain computer expertise -- began the program with the Tempe Public Library in October.
When the club began teaching the classes, Watson said, usually only two to three people showed up. Now, classes have 15 to 20 people.
Tempe Mayor Neil Giuliano said the program was "another example of a great collaboration between students at ASU and the community at large.
"We appreciate that students would give back to the community while they're at school," Giuliano said. "There's such a wealth of talent on the ASU campus that we don't take advantage of enough in my view."
Evans, who is also helping Hayden Library catalog its materials in Spanish, said he felt honored to win the award.
Other volunteer-group nominations were for graffiti removal, junior lifeguards and a reading club that reads literature and stories to senior citizens.
Watson said he was surprised at the reception for the volunteer-award ceremony that included a live jazz band.
"It's always nice not having to sneak into one of these things," he said.
Reach the reporter at christian.palmer@asu.edu.
