Intel goes Bowling
It's not every day you see a bunch of Intel employees running around a bowling alley with 10 year old children.
Last week Intel's Firmware team took children from Bakehila's Katamonim program for an afternoon of ball-rolling and education. The children, of the Learning and Enrichment center in Katamon, are often-times those who struggle with psychological poverty and limited growth opportunities. Bakehila's Learning and Enrichment program aids these children with their academic performance, while encouraging growth of self-development and expression.
Outings with Intel are part of the fun, but are also an experience meant to broaden the horizons of children to help them exit the cycle of psychological poverty. High-profile companies like Intel are generally a new revelation to children from under-served neighborhoods. "Avichai kept asking me what Intel was!" said Tom Hoffen, of Intel's firmwear, "I tried my best to make it sound interesting."
Intel has a volunteer-day scheme in place, in which a team of employees volunteer for a cause, in addition to Intel donating money per hour. Bakehila and Intel have completed several fruitful volunteering events until now, including renovation of a learning center, a humorous child-targeted science show, and a successful Hanukka fair.
This time around, seven Intel employees grouped into teams with the children, and tried their best to "strike" the bowling balls down, among much laughter and encouragement. After the games ended, Intel demonstrated some of their newest technology to the kids, including how to connect two screens wirelessly, in order to draw on one touch-screen and simultaneously affect the other. The children quickly warmed to the idea and pounced on the Intel employees to start writing their names and drawing little cartoons, to the delight of Chen and Itamar who were holding up the screens.
"Now my name is on both screens, like magic!" said ten-year-old David (name changed).
Watch this space for info on later events!
