HUD'S FOURTH ANNUAL NEIGHBORHOOD NETWORKS WEEK CONNECTS FAMILIES WITH THE FUTURE JUNE 20-26

WASHINGTON - HUD's Fourth Annual Neighborhood Networks Week, June 20-26, will focus on families and the future. Many of HUD's more than 1,200 Neighborhood Networks centers throughout the United States, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are holding special events. They will celebrate the remarkable achievements, talents, leadership and skills of families living in HUD insured and assisted housing.

This year's theme - "Connecting Families with the Future," - supports the idea that improving technology access supports families, lifelong learning and self-sufficiency. The events showcase how Neighborhood Networks centers are connecting families with possibilities and promising futures.

Neighborhood Networks Week 2004 kicks off with a Community Outreach Day at the Paradise at Parkside Computer Learning Center in Washington, D.C. Nortel Networks Kidz Online will host a live Web cast of the opening ceremony at 10:30 a.m. (EDT). Stillman D. Knight, Jr, HUD Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing Programs and HUD Multifamily Neighborhood Networks Director Delores Pruden will join representatives from the owner and property management company to kickoff Neighborhood Networks Week.

The first, second, and third-place winners of the annual Neighborhood Networks Week Youth Poster Contest will be announced during the kickoff ceremony. Each year, the winning poster is printed in color and distributed to Neighborhood Networks centers across the country.

Immediately following the opening ceremony, about 25 representatives from different organizations will provide community residents with information about their services. Among those represented will be the U.S. Department of Education, the Internet Society, the U.S. Department of Labor Franklin Street One-Stop Center, D.C. Department of Recreation Roving Leaders, and the Greater Washington Urban League.

Many other exciting Neighborhood Networks Week events, including live Web casts are planned.

• Local HUD Field Offices in several cities will host Neighborhood Networks Forums. Property owners and managers are invited to discover the many benefits of opening a Neighborhood Networks center.
  
  
• June 22nd, the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) will host a live Web chat at 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) with Teresa Weatherspoon of the Los Angeles Sparks. Ms. Weatherspoon is a four-time WNBA All-star and loves to work with children. She supports the Women's Sport Foundation. She also won gold and bronze medals as a member of the U.S. Olympic teams in 1988 and 1992.
  
  
• June 24th NASA will host a live Web cast from 10:00-10:40 a.m. (PDT). Engineers from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory will talk about their jobs, robotics and engineering, and what the Mars Rovers have been doing on Mars. Kids from Neighborhood Networks centers in California will participate in a live NASA studio audience.
  
  
• June 25th, in Nashville, Tennessee, the Middle Tennessee Neighborhood Networks Association will host an education event in honor of Neighborhood Networks Week 2004. NASA Astronaut Roger Crouch will speak at the CWA-Cayce Learning Center about his trips to space.
  
  
• Also on June 25th, Kidz Online will host another live Web cast - "Connecting Kids with Careers." Kids will learn about interesting and rewarding careers with professionals in their fields, including a firefighter, scientist and veterinarian. Kids from a live audience at the Kidz Online studio in Herndon, Virginia, and viewers online across America can ask questions.