FAQs
About the Virtual Volunteering Project
http://www.austinfree.net
Ana Sisnett, Executive Director
Austin, Texas
Austin Free-Net is a not-for-profit organization and a cooperative effort involving educational, civic, and corporate entities in Austin, Texas. Austin Free-Net provides online access for the general populace of Austin to promote educational excellence, economic vitality and community involvement.
AFN works closely with numerous agencies in the area, is responsible for the public access centers in many libraries, and helps to address the needs of children and youth in low income families. By using the Internet, young people can touch the broad array of possibilities for their lives while connecting with critical educational and health services needed by their families.
Online volunteers have helped keep the Austin Free-Net site maintained, and added new features to the Web site, such as online databases and message boards. They have also helped with program research, and recruiting for various onsite volunteer positions. Other AFN volunteers have performed a mixture of face-to-face and online service as part of their assignments; for instance, students from the University of Texas helped students at the Austin Learning Academy, an organization with which AFN is affiliated, to design their own web sites, using a combination of onsite and online assistance. College students involved in AFN projects also formed online workgroups to help each other and keep internal communications flowing.
Offline, Austin Free-Net volunteers teach a Surfing 101 class to community members in libraries and community centers. AFN hopes to involve evolunteers virtually to mentor people who take this class, particularly those from under-served communities, and to mentor young people. They also plan to host orientations for groups they work with on involving volunteers virtually.
