ONLY ON ABC7NEWS.COM: Twitter celebrates year anniversary of helping needy neighbors

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Twitter is now 10 years old, but Tuesday is the first birthday of what Twitter calls the Neighbor Nest, a place where its employees give back to he community.

ABC7 News spoke exclusively with Twitter's founder and CEO Jack Dorsey about why the company is trying to make an impact in its own neighborhood.

Twitter grew into a public company and took over a big building in the center of San Francisco and admittedly ruffled some feathers in the neighborhood. A year ago that changed when Twitter opened the Neighbor Nest. Former CEO Dick Costolo cut the ribbon. But now founder Dorsey is back in charge and more committed than ever.

Twitter employees come across the street to volunteer with the neighborhood's needy families. They teach kids how to code and the parents how to use the Internet.

"To fill out housing applications because I didn't know how to do them on my own and now I'm learning that," said Vivian Ramirez, a Compass Family Services client.

Ramirez gets to focus while volunteers entertain her kids.

"The biggest barrier that we identified is access to childcare," said Twitter public policy program manager Leah Laxamana

It's the magic ingredient and for the past year, it's been working.

No birthday is complete without a present, and the Neighobor Nest is getting a big one: a new curriculum designed to help clients learn the skills of digital literacy.

"Starting with the ability to use a keyboard and a mouse is essential," said Heather Desmidt of the Community Technology Network.

The class is taught in English and Spanish and it's the tech skills to help folks get back on their feet.

"I want them to be excited and feel like they can't live without the Internet," Desmidt said.

Of course, some say they can't wait to use Twitter.

"It's one of the fastest ways to see what's happening in the world, but more importantly people finding out what's happening in their community itself, and that's what Neighbor Nest is all about as well," Dorsey added.