PLUGGING KIDS IN; LOW-INCOME STUDENTS GET COMPUTERS.

Byline: Sherry Joe Crosby Staff Writer

A group of low-income students from around Los Angeles got early Christmas gifts Monday when they received free home computers during a holiday giveaway atPierce College.

The 17 Hewlett Packard computers were donated by the Second Byte Foundation, a nonprofit Westlake Village organization that gives at-risk teens computers of their own. The event was planned and orchestrated by a group of public relations students at the college.

The youngsters, fifth- through ninth-graders who came from as far away as Santa Clarita and Mid-City Los Angeles, were delighted to receive the computers.

``I was excited because I will have a computer in my own home,'' said Christina Thurman, 12, a seventh-grader at Foshay Learning Center in the Mid-City district.

``I want to explore the Net and try to find outthings I didn't know before,'' she said.

Cindy Hallquist, 12, a fifth-grader at Meadows Elementary in Santa Clarita, said the new computer will come in handy. She said her older brother damaged the family's old one.

``Mine is busted up,'' said Cindy, who skipped with joy after learning that she would receive the new computer. ``My brother blew up the inside of it.''

To receive the computers, students must sign an oath of understanding, pledging to keep their grades up, attend school regularly, perform community service and submit monthly essays describing their community volunteer activities or the importance of the computer in their life.

If they comply with the contract for one year, students get to keep the computer. If they violate the agreement, they must forfeit the computer. So far, no student has had to return a computer, said Juliette Harris,executive director of Second Byte.

Teachers, parents and other volunteers monitor students' progress to ensure that they comply with the contract. The computers and software are provided by companies and individuals, Harris said.

Businessman Gene C. Valentine, founder and chief executive officer of Financial West Group in Westlake Village, established the organization two years ago after observing the misplaced priorities of teens in inner-city Los Angeles schools where he briefly served as a substitute teacher.

Although the teens reported spending about $1,200 a year on compact discs, few believed they could afford personal computers.

``I said, you're buying the wrong CDs,'' Valentine recalled. ``If you take the same amount of money and invest it in computers, that will give you the tools to get a job and allow you buy as many CDs as you want, plus let you build relationships in the process.''

In an effort to refocus students' attention on learning, Valentine began to give away computers with financial help from businesses and foundations setting up computer laboratories in schools and Boys & Girls Clubs around the Southland.

So far, his organization has given away more than 100 computers. The foundation hopes to provide 1,000 students with computers before the end of the year and double that number by the end of 2000.

``We're hoping this thing will grow like wildfire and spread throughout the country,'' Valentine said.

Among program supporters at Monday's giveaway was Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson. He said Second Byte's mission is an important tool in bridging the gap between children whose families can afford personal computers and those whose families cannot.

``I was an inner-city kid, and I didn't have a computer when I was growing up,'' said Dickerson, whose family was so poor they couldn't afforda calculator rare and expensive items during the 1960s.

But he added: ``Computers are our future right now. It's becoming a necessity.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo: (1) Oscar Valle, 12, carries donated computer equipment he can take home from Pierce College.

(2) Juliette Harris of the Second Byte Foundation, right, gets a hug from Carolina Lopez, 15, who received her first computer Monday.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer