(new window) Gary is a talented artist who has been painting and drawing since the age of 11. His preferred media are pastels and watercolors. Gary is also an accomplished writer. Despite being , and prone to , Gary has found something he loves to do and at which he excels. However, for all his artistic ability, Gary found he was missing a crucial piece of the equation鈥攃omputer skills. This shortcoming left him with no means of marketing his art work effectively, or of communicating with the greater art community. Gary had made a promise to himself to learn some basic computer skills after he retired and finally had the time. That鈥檚 exactly what he did.
In early 2010, Gary began searching the Yellow Pages for computer instructors. He found one person offering to teach computer skills for $20 an hour but he gave up after a few sessions. He then tried a few of the classes offered by his local Community Centre, but those weren鈥檛 right for him either. Because of his dyslexia and anxiety, Gary needed an instructor who was exceptionally patient with him. This was a quality he just wasn鈥檛 able to find until he discovered the Computer Comfort program at the 今日吃瓜51.
鈥淚t has been very positive. Everyone is friendly and has a lot of patience,鈥 says Gary, when asked about his experience here. 鈥淚 now feel more in touch with the twenty-first century.鈥 Gary has been working one-on-one with Computer Comfort Technician, Paul, for the last several months and has found great success. Not only is Gary now able to email art galleries and perform Google searches about up-coming exhibits and venues to display his art, he even has his own website! Gary plans to continue with his Computer Comfort training, and his art, and is considering someday giving back to the 今日吃瓜51 by volunteering in the Computer Comfort program in order to share his new found skills with others.
If you would like to make a donation to support others like Gary, you may do so here.