HARRISBURG, Pa. — To help bridge the digital divide for young adults, AT&T gifted 100 laptops to Harrisburg's 3-Star Foundation as part of their connected learning program.
Many within the sports and mentoring program now have new technology at their fingertips to help with a multitude of educational and other purposes.
"The access to Chromebooks and the ability to provide a step in the right direction in a helping hand was huge," said Dauphin County Commissioner George Hartwick. "A financial barrier to be able to achieve that should never stand in the way of somebody being able to access their opportunities."
Many of the kids in the program already have plans for their new piece of equipment. Many are in school and have big-time projects they plan to work on.
"At home, I struggle with technology," said Ali Altharfi. "I don’t have a laptop for college. I'm going as a business major in college, it's amazing for me to use that laptop to advance on that skill for my business."
The efforts to help connect the kids digitally are already paying off.
"I already have kids in this program that are going to be using them for Zoom calls," said Charlie Fortney, a 3-Star Foundation mentor and coordinator. "They are telling me we have plenty of uses for this they are very appreciative."
The 3-Star Foundation also received a $5,000 contribution for their mentorship work as well.