On May 8th, Verizon, Hacienda CDC, and Portland Community College (PCC) hosted an open house for the Jade District Learning Center. It is one of three new centers intended to remove barriers between low-income Portlanders and tech resources. Elected officials, corporate sponsors, and community organization leaders spoke at the late afternoon event while letting people explore the tech-focused maker space. Community access to technological resources was the common theme of the event, with each speaker reinforcing the need for initiatives that create opportunities for workforce development, digital literacy, and entrepreneurial learning. Unlike similar resources in educational settings, program operators will not restrict this center to PCC students.
Verizon Community Forward partnered with Hacienda CDC to bring this updated Learning Center to the PCC campus at 2305 SE 82nd Avenue. The work on these centers ramped up in 2022 and built on Hacienda CDC’s technical access work. People can visit the two-room center on the second floor of the Student Commons building right off SE 82nd Avenue in the former PCC STEM Center location. Visitors can access free internet, 3D printers, laser cutters, virtual reality tools, and free programming centered around STEM education.
The Jade District Learning Center has open lab days on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from noon to 4 p.m., with an additional day on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month. The center’s primary goal is to bring cutting-edge technology to historically underserved communities. However, it is open to all those looking to expand their understanding of technology and keep up with a progressively digitally dependent world.
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