A laptop distribution initiative is trying to help close the digital divide in Sacramento
Students and families received hundreds of laptops and backpacks filled with school supplies on Saturday morning as part of an AT&T initiative to increase internet accessibility.
The telecommunications company partnered with Sacramento-based nonprofits to select recipients of the supplies and computers, which were funded by AT&T and refurbished by nonprofit Human-I-T.
In 2022, around 5% of California households did not have access to the internet or devices needed to connect.
The laptop distribution was part of AT&T’s Connected Learning initiative, which Marc Blakeman, president of AT&T California and Pacific States, said hopes to boost digital literacy and access. AT&T has given away about 26,000 laptops in California since 2021 to help close the digital divide, he said.
“You see on people’s faces immediately ... the impact it has on on families,” said Blakeman. “When you’re handing them over their own laptop, they’ll ask questions, like, ‘I don’t have to give this back?’ or whatnot. It’s just really touching to be able to do it.”
Five hundred laptops and 300 backpacks were distributed during Saturday’s event held at Sacramento State.
Shahnaz Van Deventer works for Saint John’s Program for Real Change, a residential program for women experiencing homelessness and their children.
She said that at Saint John’s, where staff work to help these women find jobs, health care and other resources to support themselves, access to the internet is critical.
“Not only are we using those devices in this connectivity at St John’s, (but) when they exit our program, they’re going to be able to continue to live in this very digital world,” Van Deventer said.
Shelena Webb, who went through Saint John’s program and is now in college, was one of the hundreds of individuals who received a laptop at the distribution event. It “will make a huge impact” on her studies, she said.
This story was originally published August 17, 2024 at 2:29 PM.