The Beginning
Dr. Hans Borchardt Volunteer computer instruction by Dr. Hans Borchardt began in 1999 at Senior Centers. This required developing material for persons who were past their peak learning periods. It resulted in a set of courses quite unlike traditional computer offerings. The striking aspect of this curriculum, when offered to students younger than Senior Center clients, is a very rapid acquisition of a sophisticated level of computer literacy.

The material evolved from constant revisions while teaching over 100 classes involving about 400 students from the fall of 1999 to the present.

Dr. Borchardt, a retired DuPont scientist, is author of 22 scientific publications and holds 13 U.S. patents. He recently co-authored “A Misers Guide to Web Construction” which has been translated into Spanish for use in Argentina.

Comped Incorporated
As the program evolved, the name COMPED (COMPuter EDucation) was adopted. Comped was incorporated in Delaware as Comped Inc, a non-profit corporation on July 31, 2003.

During the summer of 2003, Hans & Tish Borchardt constructed a home for Comped by converting a bay of their garage into a 7 work-station computer studio .

On April 30, 2004, Comped was recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a non-profit organization in compliance with section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Financing
A generous, unsolicited donation of $ 5000, arranged for by student Nancy Weldin, paid for most of the equipment. The Bank of New York (DE) kindly provided a grant of $ 1000 for an overhead projector . The cost of constructing the studio, approximately $ 5000, is an investment made by Hans & Tish Borchardt to serve the community. A portion of the operating expenses is covered by small donations from the direct beneficiaries of the program, namely students.

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