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The Fourth Annual Jerry Awards for User Group Community Service Projects were announced at the Association of Personal Computer User Groups' (APCUG) Annual User Group Summit meeting at Fall Comdex 2001. These awards are named for APCUG founder Jerry Schneider whose commitment to encouraging and facilitating user group involvement in the community has led to numerous outstanding outreach programs.

Many APCUG groups are involved in community service projects of all sizes and scope. With the generous support of sponsors Adobe Systems, Microsoft Corporation and the National Cristina Foundation, the APCUG publicly recognizes and rewards user groups for their outstanding community outreach programs. These projects exemplify how the mottoes of "users helping users" and "user groups helping user groups" have evolved into "user groups helping the community."

Judy Lococo, immediate past president of APCUG states "The community service projects that we recognize with a Jerry Award are perfect examples of the power and spirit of user groups."

The award categories of the 2001 Jerry Awards for community service projects and winning groups are:

New Wave Computer User Group
Youth Day 2001
A day set aside for "hands on" demonstrations and activities to enable youth to be exposed to current technology and careers in the computer technology fields.

Tri County Computer User Group
"People Helping People" Computer Lab
An outstanding example of a group taking a room at the library that wasn't even being used and turning it into a program that has served 451 students so far.

Cincinnati PC User Group
Technology Assisting People In Need (TAPIN)
With a businesslike approach, this group secured the use of 4,000 square feet of space, incorporated, secured their 501(c) (3) designation and established relationships with numerous agencies to distribute the machines, allowing them to distribute as many as 200 machines in one month.

Twin Lakes Computer Users Group
Library Volunteerism
Volunteers regularly spend four or more hour shifts in the local library to assist library patrons to use the library's computers and learn about the Internet.

Napa Valley PC User Group
CyberMill Club House
Youth learn the digital skills they need for the 21st century. The NapaValley PC User Group helps to locate hardware and software, maintain the equipment and share their expertise on computer use with teens.

Tulsa Computer Society
The Bethesda Boys Ranch Project is an ongoing computer refurbishing project that distributes technology regionally and all over the world.

Columbia Baltimore User Group
The award for Best Ongoing Project goes to the nine year old Phoenix Project of the Columbia Baltimore User Group that has brought over 3,000 refurbished PCs to the Maryland Public Schools and to organizations helping programs with people who are disabled and the needy across the State of Maryland.

Tucson Computer Society
The award for Best New Project goes to the Tuscon Computer Society and their QUILTS program. This group researches and adapts designs for computerized sewing machines to assist in the creation of quilts for hospitalized, seriously ill children.

Central IA Computer User Group
Demolition Derby (ROCK)
The award for Best Short Term Project goes to the Recycle Old Computers Kindly (ROCK) Program of the Central Iowa Computer User Group. This program works with the Girl Scouts of Central Iowa and the AAUW Educational Foundation to reach over 100 underserved kids ages 7-19, introducing them to the world "under the hood" of PCs.

Greater Cleveland PC Users Group
Their Computers Assisting People program (CAP) has gathered, repaired and refurbished several thousand computers and distributed them to over 100 non-profits in the Cleveland and Northeast Ohio region. Because of their work, shut-in seniors get on-line to link to loved ones; victims of domestic violence have acquired cell phones; homeless children in shelters receive computers and technical support and numerous others are getting important access to computer technology.