Conference Press Release

PHILADELPHIA, May 23, 2012 - Scores of Information Advocates, as they call themselves, will meet Friday, May 25, at Philadelphia's Central Library to lay the groundwork for a network of resource-savvy helpers willing to convert their passion about serving their community into a formalized program to directly help people connect with other people to make living, working, and raising a family easier or more interesting.

The full-day citywide conference, to be held in the Skyline Room of the Central Library, between 19th and 20th Streets on the Parkway, will begin at 9:00 a.m. and continue till 4:00 p.m., with presentations in the morning about the need for an information advocates network, the resources needed to make the network a reality, and the issues faced in bringing the concept to fruition.

Information Advocacy is a term created by Stan Pokras, who was the proprietor of a storefront information service in 1970 called Everything for Everybody. Pokras, who is executive director of Nonprofit Technology Resources, will lead the day's events, offering news clippings and articles about his earlier efforts at providing a community information service which he now describes as "Craig's List on three by five cards."

Speakers include -

• Jay Cohen, PARENTPOWER, Home and School Council, and School Advisory Council - The Need for Information Advocates.
• Michael P. Rice, Community Engagement Specialist - Building a Network, One Relationship at a Time.
• Daniel Shiffner, Library Coordinator, Central Public Services Division, Parkway Central - An Introduction to Online Resources.
• Baba Bob Shipman, Long-time community activist in Philadelphia - The Needs of the Neighborhood.

Breakout sessions, following a "brown-bag" networking lunch, will be conducted from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. for subgroups tasked with converting the morning's ideas into a plan of action.

According to Pokras, "So many human needs can be met simply by finding the right 'other person' who has a complimentary need - someone to buy what someone else has to sell, someone to fix what someone else has that's broken, or someone to ferret out information for someone who doesn't know where to turn for answers. In a word," he explained, "it is simply everything for everybody.

"Matching needs to resources is a key human function," says Pokras. "People should be doing it for other people. Now that we have the Internet, we can set up a network of helpful people to use information to make everyone's life a bit easier. The key is," he continued, "to empower the helpers so that the people who are not on the Internet can take advantage of the new tools."

There is no charge to attend the meeting. Those interested should contact Stan Pokras at pokras@ntronline.org or 267-968-0407 or register directly at http://tinyurl.com/75zcvyc

The Information Advocates Network is a project of Nonprofit Technology Resources, the local nonprofit organization that runs Philadelphia's only computer thrift store, and for nearly 40 years has been making communication and information technologies accessible to area low-income families and the organizations that serve them.