WEBVTT
Kind: captions
Language: en

00:00:04.671 --> 00:00:05.537
Oh, it's a picture.

00:00:05.539 --> 00:00:07.506
Yes. It looks good.

00:00:07.508 --> 00:00:09.841
One of us is interviewing [?].

00:00:09.843 --> 00:00:14.229
Sure. LearnIT is a volunteer-based
service learning program.

00:00:14.231 --> 00:00:20.133
It started from Dr. Robert Fullilove's
five-week race and health seminar series.

00:00:20.135 --> 00:00:22.495
It was offered to faculty
and staff of Columbia,

00:00:22.497 --> 00:00:27.538
as well as community activists
and advocates along Northern Manhattan.

00:00:27.540 --> 00:00:31.641
We learned about race
and health through the COVID lens.

00:00:31.643 --> 00:00:33.422
At this time, it was Spring 2021.

00:00:33.424 --> 00:00:37.224
The pandemic was still--
We were still in the thick of it.

00:00:37.226 --> 00:00:40.807
We realized that seniors and people

00:00:40.809 --> 00:00:47.092
within the community did not have access
to telehealth, COVID vaccines,

00:00:47.393 --> 00:00:52.054
COVID testing,
anything related to health services

00:00:52.056 --> 00:00:54.695
on the digital platform
or remote platform.

00:00:54.697 --> 00:01:00.794
We wanted to have just
a one-time senior tech day here

00:01:00.811 --> 00:01:03.929
at Haven Plaza,
and we created a resource booklet

00:01:03.931 --> 00:01:07.065
for people who were interested in learning

00:01:07.067 --> 00:01:11.028
or improving their digital literacy
or increasing their digital literacy.

00:01:11.030 --> 00:01:16.533
Right away from that pilot,
we saw the needs in the community,

00:01:17.296 --> 00:01:20.637
and continued to work with
community partners and host

00:01:20.639 --> 00:01:26.404
other one-on-one tech support
workshops within community settings.

00:01:26.637 --> 00:01:31.582
[on-screen text]

00:01:31.925 --> 00:01:35.343
I would say we've learned
a lot of different things along the way.

00:01:35.345 --> 00:01:38.805
I think the biggest thing
is the importance of community

00:01:38.807 --> 00:01:42.168
buy-in and support
when doing a project like this.

00:01:42.170 --> 00:01:44.269
At the very beginning,
we were really lucky

00:01:44.271 --> 00:01:48.112
because we worked with Coach
Dave Crenshaw and Al Kurland

00:01:48.114 --> 00:01:50.173
who both have been working

00:01:50.175 --> 00:01:53.687
within the community
for multiple decades now.

00:01:53.757 --> 00:01:56.916
They've came with a lot of knowledge
that they've shared with us,

00:01:56.918 --> 00:02:00.617
and they've really helped us
connect and reach out to people

00:02:00.619 --> 00:02:03.198
within the community
who have been really important support

00:02:03.200 --> 00:02:05.478
systems in terms of hosting events

00:02:05.480 --> 00:02:09.148
as well as getting people
to come to our events.

00:02:09.261 --> 00:02:12.160
We also learned that a lot is possible

00:02:12.162 --> 00:02:15.701
with very little funding
in a project like this.

00:02:15.703 --> 00:02:19.658
When we started out,
we didn't have any funding,

00:02:19.660 --> 00:02:23.640
and so in creating
the booklets and stuff like that,

00:02:23.842 --> 00:02:27.821
we were able to work with our community
partners to put on these events.

00:02:27.823 --> 00:02:29.882
We had really wonderful
volunteers from Mailman

00:02:29.884 --> 00:02:33.952
as well as in the community
who came and were trained by us

00:02:33.954 --> 00:02:37.166
to be volunteers during our events.

00:02:37.307 --> 00:02:42.479
[on-screen text]

00:02:42.496 --> 00:02:45.882
Right now, LearnIT has held, say,

00:02:45.899 --> 00:02:50.424
14 events throughout Harlem
and Washington Heights community.

00:02:50.426 --> 00:02:53.645
We've built
a lot of really incredible partnerships.

00:02:53.647 --> 00:02:57.005
What we would like to do going forward
is to continue to build

00:02:57.007 --> 00:03:02.027
on those partnerships and host
events within the city, but also expand.

00:03:02.029 --> 00:03:05.149
We're trying to utilize
a train-the-trainer model

00:03:05.151 --> 00:03:09.715
to actually teach people
within the community to host these events

00:03:09.717 --> 00:03:11.756
or provide these services to others

00:03:11.758 --> 00:03:14.092
in the community
so that it's a more lasting

00:03:14.094 --> 00:03:18.148
and sustainable impact.

00:03:18.782 --> 00:03:24.021
[on-screen text]

00:03:25.072 --> 00:03:27.874
Focusing on the digital divide,

00:03:27.891 --> 00:03:32.549
many people in the community are not aware

00:03:32.589 --> 00:03:35.788
of any of the technological services
that are offered within the community.

00:03:35.790 --> 00:03:37.129
Before the pandemic,

00:03:37.131 --> 00:03:40.150
a lot of seniors relied on public
libraries or community centers

00:03:40.152 --> 00:03:44.932
or senior centers for device
access and then also tech support.

00:03:44.934 --> 00:03:46.473
Then once COVID happened,

00:03:46.475 --> 00:03:48.193
there are many people
who are not returning

00:03:48.195 --> 00:03:50.715
to libraries or senior centers.

00:03:50.917 --> 00:03:54.439
If services exist and we did find
out that some of these do exist,

00:03:54.441 --> 00:03:58.142
there's a disconnect where the community
doesn't know that they're around.

00:03:58.144 --> 00:04:02.707
It's really important for services
to make themselves

00:04:02.709 --> 00:04:05.670
known in the communities
that they're trying to support.

00:04:05.672 --> 00:04:08.872
In our resource booklet that we created,

00:04:08.994 --> 00:04:12.114
the second half of it actually
focuses on increasing

00:04:12.116 --> 00:04:14.855
awareness about different services
within the community.

00:04:14.857 --> 00:04:19.098
We have a bunch of different health
services as well as technological services

00:04:19.100 --> 00:04:21.439
that are listed
in the booklet that we give

00:04:21.441 --> 00:04:24.401
to attendees who come to our events,

00:04:24.403 --> 00:04:28.650
and so they'll have more of an idea
of what there is available.

00:04:28.652 --> 00:04:32.939
[on-screen text]

00:04:32.956 --> 00:04:35.587
We've already talked
about community buy-in.

00:04:35.589 --> 00:04:38.069
In order to have a sustainable
community project,

00:04:38.071 --> 00:04:39.991
you need members of the community.

00:04:39.993 --> 00:04:44.096
We're thankful to have Coach Dave Crenshaw
and Al Kurland like Tina mentioned.

00:04:44.098 --> 00:04:46.618
Without them,
we would not have been able to build

00:04:46.620 --> 00:04:49.317
that community trust as quickly as we did.

00:04:49.319 --> 00:04:54.740
We work with faith-based organizations,
senior centers, hospitals,

00:04:55.320 --> 00:04:59.599
universities,
but we would like to expand our reach

00:04:59.601 --> 00:05:03.339
to more community-based
organizations in this area.

00:05:03.341 --> 00:05:07.712
Ideally, because the program is adaptable
and replicable.

00:05:07.802 --> 00:05:12.843
We can expand it to other places
across the United States.

00:05:12.943 --> 00:05:15.198
That's the ultimate goal.

00:05:15.215 --> 00:05:19.903
[on-screen text]

00:05:19.936 --> 00:05:21.347
As I talked about earlier,

00:05:21.349 --> 00:05:24.310
a big source of our volunteers
are Mailman students,

00:05:24.312 --> 00:05:26.531
and they've been absolutely
incredible in coming

00:05:26.533 --> 00:05:31.606
out to multiple of our events
and supporting through volunteering.

00:05:31.777 --> 00:05:34.566
We've made connections
with some of the organizations

00:05:34.568 --> 00:05:40.187
at Mailman because I was a student before,
but also Dr. Bob teaches here.

00:05:40.964 --> 00:05:43.224
We've worked with Cypher
and they've been really great

00:05:43.226 --> 00:05:46.907
with helping us to get
the word out about volunteering.

00:05:46.909 --> 00:05:49.910
Building more connections
with other student organizations

00:05:49.912 --> 00:05:52.793
is something
that we're very interested in doing,

00:05:52.795 --> 00:05:55.435
as well as we've also talked
about in the past,

00:05:55.437 --> 00:05:59.198
maybe incorporating
part of our service learning

00:05:59.200 --> 00:06:02.581
aspect into classes
that teach a lot about working

00:06:02.583 --> 00:06:04.583
in the community
but actually providing students

00:06:04.585 --> 00:06:07.916
with an opportunity
to do so would be really incredible.

00:06:07.918 --> 00:06:13.490
[on-screen text]

00:06:14.741 --> 00:06:18.678
I think I would start
by saying the importance

00:06:18.695 --> 00:06:22.816
of approaching it in a multifaceted

00:06:22.833 --> 00:06:29.037
and interdisciplinary way in incorporating

00:06:29.039 --> 00:06:32.581
not just Mailman and the medical center,

00:06:32.583 --> 00:06:34.722
but also community
members in these discussions

00:06:34.724 --> 00:06:38.063
on how best to address these issues,
because at the end of the day,

00:06:38.065 --> 00:06:40.905
they know their community the best,
and without their support,

00:06:40.907 --> 00:06:44.966
it's very hard to make programs
like this successful.

00:06:45.089 --> 00:06:46.871
As an institution,
it's really important to have

00:06:46.873 --> 00:06:53.235
community buy-in from the planning
and implementation stages,

00:06:53.237 --> 00:06:58.471
or else the program won't be effective
or might not even be received.

00:06:58.473 --> 00:07:03.374
I would just add just to talk
to people within the community.

00:07:03.376 --> 00:07:05.795
A lot of the times
when we have volunteering

00:07:05.797 --> 00:07:09.377
events and we're volunteering
and speaking to the attendee that comes

00:07:09.379 --> 00:07:11.998
in during our one-on-one
tech support services,

00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:15.620
they are very happy to just
talk to us and share

00:07:15.622 --> 00:07:18.362
with us their experiences
with living in the community,

00:07:18.364 --> 00:07:23.827
and the things that they see every day
and would like to see every day.