Non-Profit Organizations on the Net

by Wong Lee and John Wong

Granted, Citibank was pushing for PC banking. Prodigy and America On Line were signing up new members. McGraw-Hill and Prentice Hall were both selling Internet and World Wide Web books. However, two of the least glamorous, but most useful web service are from the New York PC Users' Group and New York Online Access to Health (http://www.naoh.cuny.edu).

New York Online Access to Health

New York Online Access to Health (NYOH) maintains a Web page to fill the growing need for reliable and up-to-date consumer health information. The site deals with health issues people face, such as aging, nutrition and pregnancy. It also has a section on healthy living which emphasizes proper diet and exercise.

The page also deals with illnesses and disorders such as AIDS, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, tuberculosis, and sexually transmitted diseases.

Into It

When you first enter the home page, you are asked to give some brief information about yourself, including age, sex, and race. Then you are lead to a series of topics which you can choose.

There is also a search engine to help you find the information you need. Is the page just a fancy family medical dictionary? Well, it provides more information than that. The page includes something for everyone - it is a good introduction to the topic on hand.

Most of the information is also translated in Spanish. This is way of providing the Spanish-speaking segment of the population with the latest health related information.

Alternative

Interested in alternative medicine? There is a extensive list of alternative ways of maintaining one's health. For example, there is a section on acupuncture. Basically the information provided is from links to acupuncture sites.

NOAH is a pilot project funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunication and Information Administration (NTIA) and other grants. Major contributors include the City University of New York (CUNY), the New York Metropolitan Reference and Research Library Agency, the New York Academy of Medicine, and the New York Public Library.

The New York PC Users' Group (NYPC)

The NYPC is a non-profit educational organization founded in 1982 to provide a forum for users to discuss personal computer topics. The organization is an inexpensive way for new users to learn about topics ranging from using computer applications to programming.

NYPC holds monthly general meeting including a question and answer period. There are also special vendor sponsored events.

The NYPC web site is organized into "Special Interest Groups" (SIG). These groups hold their own meetings. Examples of these groups include groups serving Access users, C++ programmers, and Excel users.