BY KIRSTEN E. PAULSON
The Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens (VBGCQ) and Time Warner Cable held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday to mark the opening of a brand new technology and computer lab at the club’s center in Long Island City.
The TWC Learning Lab, located at 21-12 39th Rd., comes equipped with computers, computer software, internet service, flat screen HD televisions, and HD video service. The lab was funded by a $50,000 grant through Time Warner Cable’s Connect a Million Minds initiative, which hopes to open 40 computer labs in New York City by 2020. The VBGCQ will incorporate the lab into its Internet Safety, Digital Literacy, and Career Launch programs.
The Long Island City lab is the nineteenth lab in New York City, and the sixth lab in Queens— Time Warner Cable has previously funded labs in Woodside, Sunnyside, Rockaway, Ridgewood, and Flushing.
“Time Warner Cable has been a strong supporter of us through its Connect a Million Minds initiative. We’re so pleased they are investing in us again, as the 700 children served by the Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens will now have access to a state of the art Time Warner Cable Learning Lab,” said Matthew Troy, Executive Director of the Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens. “This Lab will help open doors to more 21st Century learning opportunities, providing access to tools and hands on learning that our Club’s students will need for future studies and careers in the science, technology, engineering, and math fields.”
