Australia

The Rosebud Police Senior Citizens Register Incorporated (RPSCRI) www.rosebudseniors.websyte.com.au is a charity organisation  manned entirely by volunteers, and relies entirely on fundraisers and donations. Some of the many important functions RPSCRI performs include making elderly people feel safer, minimising the fear of crime amongst the elderly and increasing the awareness of elderly people to their own safety and security.

To aid in their service proviision RPSCRI maintains a register comprising more than 4000 senior residents of the Mornington Peninsula.  They  keep a database of important personal information for each of their senior clients which is of great assistance to emergency services when the need arises.

The database for this register is now run using "Access" from their donated Microsoft Office Professional suite of products.  As a result  information workers are now able to  track and report information more reliably. Marie Parkinson from RPSCRI says "The Microsoft donated software has been a great asset to our organisation as it has provided a simple answer to our needs."

Women's Resource Centre (WRC) provides free resources, information and referrals to women on a range of issues. They provide a safe and friendly space for women in the community to ‘drop-in', relax and meet with other women. WRC network with community groups and agencies to identify training gaps for workers as well as identifying and resolving issues of concern to women in the community.

WRC offer public access to computers, internet and email for people who don't own their own computer. Gabrielle from WRC says, "With our limited funding we have been able to save dollars by using the DonorTec program. This means we can offer other activities and spread our funding further."

As the WRC's donated Microsoft software came with two years of Software Assurance they will shortly be upgrading from Office Professional Plus 2003 to the latest 2010 version without having any further outlay. This means visitors to the centre can utilise the most current Office applications in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher and Visio.

The men are able to share their concerns and frustrations in an open forum and find ideas to help with their own circumstances. They can get ideas as to how to assist with providing a productive life for people with a disability or health problem as well as sharing any issues which D.A.D.S. can help provide solutions for.

Through a generous donation from Microsoft D.A.D.S. received a comprehensive list of software which included Digital Image Suite and Office for MAC Professional Edition. These Microsoft products have made it possible for D.A.D.S. to produce quality PowerPoint presentations.

Umeewarra Aboriginal Media Association (UAMA) offers a very important service to the community of the Port Augusta region. As South Australia’s only Aboriginal radio station it has given the Aboriginal people a voice that they wouldn’t normally get in mainstream media.

UAMA produces a wide range of programs for the community. These include the Daily News, Job-watch, After School Show, Documentary Time, Aboriginal Current Affairs, a sports program, a gospel program and a country music show.

The programs all feature Indigenous content and local information. They offer a service that enables the community to have access to information on Indigenous issues and also offer positive stories from the Indigenous community.

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Who are they?
Life’s Little Treasures Inc

Where are they?
Melbourne, Victoria

What do they do?
Provide support and assistance to families of premature babies throughout Victoria

What did they receive?
Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2007/My Bookings Manager Executive

“We are better at keeping records of all our stake holders and also much improved communications with our stakeholders as well.”
- Richard Lord, ADA

You’ve seen guide dogs and heard of hearing dogs. Now meet the new dogs on the block. Assistance Dogs Australia is a non-profit organisation that trains Labradors to help enhance the quality of life and improve the level of independence for people with physical disabilities.

Assistance Dogs Australia was started in 1996 and has since placed over 95 dogs around Australia.  ADA has recently been accredited by Assistance Dogs International, making it the first and only assistant dog organisation to be accredited in the Southern Hemisphere.

Puppies are trained through the assistance of volunteer puppy raisers in 3 states or through innovative programs such as Pups in Prison and the new Justice Pups Program at the Frank Baxter Juvenile Centre. During their training the dogs also take part in Aged care visiting schemes and the Reading Labs program to assist school students with reading difficulties.

ABWA provides clients with the individual help that they need, like learning how to move safely around their home, workplace, local shopping areas and using public transport.  They provide guide dogs for clients as well as a wide range of white canes, navigation equipment and other new technology as it becomes available to help with mobility.

They also provide specific services to children and their families to help them as they cope with growing up, going to school, socialising and getting involved in sport and leisure.  At the other end of the spectrum, they help people who are approaching their twilight years, by ensuring that they do not become isolated and that they can participate in life, despite vision loss.

Throughout all the activities at the Association, one of the key issues is access to information, including the ability to read and write.

And that’s where DonorTec has come in.   This unique service has assisted ABWA to upgrade its technology training rooms and library to bring them into line with current industry standards.  Liz Macilhone from ABWA says “We received copies of Microsoft Office 2007 at an incredible price, and this freed up some resources to then let us purchase upgrades to the assistive technology used by our clients.  The assistive technology we require to provide a person with vision impairment, with access to a computer. Without this, our clients and particularly our young children coming up through school and into tertiary education would be disadvantaged compared to other West Australians.” 

Through the DonorTec program the ILC was able to obtain Microsoft terminal server software, which has meant that they have been able to employ an occupational therapist for a short-term project that can be worked on from home.  Executive Officer, Karen Frost, says, “This would not have been possible without terminal server as the staff member needs to access our database in real time. Accessing downloads through terminal server from home also means that our staff member’s internet usage is not affected as much as if they were doing the same from their home computer.”

They have also seen benefits from other staff being able to access their own desktop from another computer if their computer breaks down or has problems, and for staff travelling around the State to have real-time access to their product database.