Bridging the Digital Divide

The North Allegheny Stem and Buds and #STEMinism clubs have partnered together to create the Digital Divide event to spread awareness about the inequality of access to technology that exists for both households across the country and in our local community. According to the National Center of Education's 2019 report, in 2017 14% of children ages 3-18 had no internet access at home. Among those without access, 34% cited that it was too expensive. Right now, technology access has become more important than ever for students to complete their education remotely. The COVID-19 pandemic has only magnified the disparities in technology access between marginalized students and their more affluent peers, which would put them at a learning disadvantage even in normal times.

We hope to raise money for Beyond the Laptops, a coalition of Pittsburgh businesses and organizations including Pittsburgh Public Schools, Computer Reach, Neighborhood Allies, the University of Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Technology Council, and more whose mission is to procure, refurbish, and distribute thousands of laptops to get Pittsburgh families connected. Every $50 dollars we raise will help refurbish one laptop for a family in need. 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our team: Rebekah Rest ([email redacted]), Eliza Toomey ([email redacted]),  and Ashna Patel ([email redacted]). We sincerely thank you for your support of this project!