With the help of AmeriCorps members Byte Back, Inc. provides computer literacy and employment readiness skills to underserved communities throughout Washington D.C. This program provides free and low-cost computer courses and teaches advanced certification courses, enabling students to enter the workforce with competitive and useful skills. Byte Back teaches computer literacy classes at over a dozen locations throughout the city, at D.C. Public Libraries, at human service agencies, and at our own central office at Washington, D.C. With full-time and volunteer staff, Byte Back serves over 1,000 adult students annually.

Byte Back offers an excellent example of how service and volunteerism makes a tremendous impact on the District of Columbia. AmeriCorps members dedicate themselves to training residents of Washington, DC and the surrounding communities for the future. AmeriCorps Members have expanded Byte Back’s work and impact, particularly with independent projects.

Members have been thoughtfully responding to community needs and recognizing where they can take action. Members designed and lead trainings for their peers and have take on more program development at Byte Back as their AmeriCorps year progress. These efforts have expanded the diversity of services that Byte Back offers the community.

Members are expanding their reach through creating online video tutorials, including a Spanish video tutorial that teaches students to use Skype to communicate with their relatives abroad. Members have taken initiative to increase their knowledge and certifications in order to be able to expand instruction to students and the broader community.

Courses in Spanish and American Sign Language - are constantly evolving, but are now strong and sustainable thanks to the hard work of AmeriCorps members. In the past a member also launched a Deaf Professional Job Club. Overall, Byte Back volunteers are extraordinary. In a recent year individual volunteers provided over 20,000 hours of their time and talent, averaging 89 hours per volunteer.

The work of Byte Back is an illustration of our Mayor’s vision for a city where each and every resident is fully prepared for the workforce and ready to seize the future. Residents from across wards, from diverse backgrounds, with dynamic personal stories coming together to learn and leverage their training and experiences to make themselves better and our city stronger.