Pateros Tech Center gains second AmeriCorps volunteer

PATEROS – A new AmeriCorps staff member, locally grown and educated, is running operations at the Pateros Brewster Community Resource Center’s (PBCRC) Tech Center for the next eight months.

Francisco Vargas, 21, a 2020 Brewster High School graduate, is showing folks with ideas how to translate those ideas into end products through a combination of the center’s computer, printing, and prototype design resources and the research mentoring Vargas provides. He assumed his duties on Oct. 21, 2022, and will remain with the center through the end of August this year.

Vargas said he likes the challenges that come though the center’s double doors and welcomes customers willing to step forward with their “can-you-help-me-with-this” projects. Since assuming his position at PBCRC last October Vargas has helped many turn a quest into a solution.

“People just need to take that next step and not be intimidated by the technology,” Vargas said. “We’re here to provide the assistance needed to make that happen.”

One local, who wishes to remain unidentified, came to Vargas with a request to help convert a firearms accessory – a barrel block used to prevent an accidental discharge – into one that was made of flexible material and colored for better visibility.

“I searched, and I searched, and I searched,” the man said of his quest to find what he was looking for from existing models.

It took Vargas a little more than a day to locate a template online and available in the public domain that could be used to fashion exactly what his customer wanted. Using the soft rubber colored filament material provided, Vargas used the center’s 3-D printer to create several examples of various lengths and diameters to come up with just what his customer wanted.

“I was amazed how quickly Francisco found a solution through his research,” the pleased client said.

In another instance a craftswoman brought a photo to Vargas that she wanted to convert into a large format pattern from which to fashion a quilt. Once again Vargas tackled the problem and soon found a phone app that would allow him to scan the photo. He then manipulated the image through the center’s computer so that it could be reproduced on the maximum dimensions available on the center’s jumbo printer, a three-by-four-foot poster.

In addition to these examples the Tech Center is also an internet/computer resource for those needing access or assistance with more and more government services that are conducting business online. Those lacking a computer or internet access will find both the equipment and a ready source of help to navigate the growing list of programs and benefits online that can improve their quality of life.

Vargas said he applied for the AmeriCorps internship following a short time in the work force to broaden his educational options toward his goal of one day earning his accounting degree. An older sister who preceded him in the AmeriCorps program encouraged him to give the agency a look. When he learned that a position as the Pateros Tech Center would allow him to gain valuable experience and remain in the area, he applied for the position.

The City of Pateros has established a productive partnership with AmeriCorps since the first group was dispatched to help recovery efforts from the 2014 Carlton Complex wildfire. Since then, 13 teams have cycled through the city, the last a nine-member crew that arrived April 1 and departed June 18 last year. That team divided its time here between work with the Okanogan County Long Term Recovery Group and the Pateros Treehouse Early Education Organization.

When the PBCRC debuted its new Tech Center a year ago this month its first staffer was Natalie Torres, another 2017 Brewster graduate who earned her bachelor’s degree in public health from Central Washington University before joining AmeriCorps.

The PBCRC Tech Center is located at 169 Pateros Mall.