Across Buffalo, it is estimated that more than 11,400 kindergarten through 12th-grade students do not have access to the internet, computers or skills needed at home to benefit from the online world, according to AT&T.
It is called the digital divide, defined as unequal access to digital devices and high-speed internet.
To help close the gap, Say Yes Buffalo has teamed up with AT&T to give away 165 free laptops Tuesday to Say Yes scholars who are entering into a college degree or certificate program or already enrolled in one.
The free laptops will give them the tools they need to be successful, said David Rust, Say Yes Buffalo chief executive officer.
“Everyone has potential. Not everyone’s given opportunity, and in this case, the opportunity is the tool that a student needs to be successful when they enter a certificate or a degree program, some type of electronic device for email, for homework, for any option they need to be successful in their program,” Rust said.
Without the laptops, it is more difficult for the students to complete their work. They may have to rely on computer labs on the campus, for example, he added.
“This removes that and allows them to have a brand new device with the tech support needed to be successful,” Rust said.
Say Yes Buffalo provides scholarships to eligible graduates of Buffalo public and charter schools to all State University of New York and City University of New York schools and more than 90 private colleges and universities.
The students receiving the free laptops indicated they were in need of a device when they signed up to receive or signed up to maintain their Say Yes scholarships.
The organization has been providing free laptops since the fall of 2020, when the pandemic hit, “and we’ve continued it since,” said Rust, who estimated the organization has provided an average of 250 laptops each year through donations and its own funding.
But this year,…
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