Penn State is the first university to have a Promise Station (www.pennstatespromise.org), an online database of all university outreach activities. Penn State created the Web site after becoming a University of Promise, a group of colleges nationwide dedicated to using university resources to better the lives of children in their communities.

Harris Wofford, chairman of America's Promise: The Alliance for Youth, visited Penn State yesterday to launch the station.

Penn State community, faculty and student groups from all campuses can now share information, ideas and resources on the Internet "gathering place."

"Everyone's within reach. That's the magic of modern computer technology," Wofford said.

The Promise Station is designed to serve people in communities surrounding Penn State campuses by enabling them to search for youth programs by location and type.

To ensure that this goal is reached, a University of Promise makes five promises to young people: ongoing relationships with caring adults, safe places with structured activities during non-school hours, healthcare, education in literacy and opportunities to give back to the community through service.