SOLEDAD — AT&T and HUMAN-I-T recently provided 100 refurbished laptops and backpacks stuffed with school supplies to the Soledad Chamber of Commerce to distribute to local students and families in need.
The Aug. 7 event, held at Premiere Cinemas in Soledad, was part of AT&T’s California Summer of Connectivity, a statewide initiative bringing digital resources directly to communities across California to help bridge the digital divide.
California Summer of Connectivity builds on AT&T’s larger nationwide campaign to help address the digital divide by providing laptops and 30,000 backpacks filled with school supplies to students in qualifying households before they return to school.
The laptops and backpacks, funded by an AT&T contribution, were given to recipients who were pre-selected prior to this month’s event. Soledad Chamber of Commerce staff, volunteers and community partners were onsite to help distribute the laptops.
According to U.S. Census Bureau data, millions nationwide still don’t have access to the internet or connected devices needed to fully participate in the online world, an issue known as the digital divide.
According to the Public Policy Institute of California, 41% of low-income households in the state still do not have full digital access to both the internet and a device for educational purposes.
This effort is part of AT&T’s initiative to help address the digital divide through internet accessibility, affordability and safe adoption. AT&T is committing $5 billion to help 25 million people get and stay connected to high-speed internet by 2030. This includes distributing more than 30,000 computers to students and their families across California since 2021.
