SEATTLE (Oct. 5, 2007) -- Giant Campus, the nationally recognized leader in technology education programs for youth and families, today announced that it has renewed a technology training contract with the U.S. Army to provide technology training and education programs for families and base personnel stationed at Fort Lewis Army Post and McChord Air Force Base near Tacoma.
The federal contract, valued about nearly $1 million, is administered through the Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) program to support active and retired military personnel, DoD civilians and their families at the two military facilities. The renewed contract went into effect Sept. 1 and runs for one year.
Working with MWR, Giant Campus provides technology educational programming for all ages at Fort Lewis and McChord. Youth and teen students can participate in the company's acclaimed Cybercamps programs while older students may opt for live or online technology courses in subjects such as Microsoft Word or PowerPoint. The programs for both adults and youths deliver cutting-edge, skill-based training in more than 80 self-paced classes that can be taken at home or on-site with instructors available to answer questions.
"We are very pleased to be offering our award-winning technology education curriculum for the fifth straight year to the military personnel and civilians at Fort Lewis and a second year at McChord," said Pete Findley, chief executive officer of Giant Campus. "These funds help us fill the technology gap between military families and the general civilian population, particularly among children and teens."
"Not only did the program meet our original goals, but I believe we have greatly exceeded them. I believe that this type of technology program needs to be provided within all military communities. The positive response we have received has been tremendous," said James M. Dubik, Lieutenant General, US Army, and former Commanding Officer at Fort Lewis.
Findley said the efforts of state's congressional delegation, led by Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Norm Dicks, were instrumental in securing funding for the program.
"We are very grateful to Senator Murray and Congressman Dicks for their tremendous leadership on issues of such great importance to our troops and their families." Findley said. "These types of educational programs help military families bridge the technological gap and stay competitive in an increasingly technologically savvy world. We've seen a tremendous amount of interest and participation in the program and it's the type of program that makes a direct and immediate difference in the quality of life for our military families."
About Giant Campus
Giant Campus is an education and learning experience company that works to develop 21st century skills with its learners. The Giant Campus suite of online education and youth products are delivered in a variety of environments: in K-12 school classrooms, on U.S. military installations, at university-hosted summer computer programs, to the federal government, and at home. With more than 3 million learners worldwide, and an excess of 1 million hours of in-person instruction, the company is dedicated to empowering generations with the skills they need to succeed in a global community. Giant Campus is a four-time honoree of Washington CEO magazine's Best Companies to Work For award, winning top honors in 2000 and finishing in the top ten for 2004, 2005 and 2006. Giant Campus is also the winner of the Homestreet Bank's Small Business Spotlight Award for 2006. For more information, visit www.giantcampus.com.