As featured on the “Today” show this week, the Houston non-profit helping Covington attack the “digital divide” is seeking tax-deductible donations to help buy refurbished computers for local families as part of the massive “Covington Connect” project.
Comp-U-Dopt has a donation page HERE that invites donors to be a part of the effort, whose urgency has grown with schools’ reliance on distance learning during the pandemic.
The City of Covington-led $2.5 million partnership seeks to super-charge Wi-Fi access in the city and hopes to donate 1,900 computers to families of Covington schoolchildren who lack that capacity.
Donations – and make sure you designate “Covington, KY” as the location recipient – will help local computer firms Blair Technology Group and ReGadget secure and refurbish the 1,900 devices and give them away.
Any donation is appreciated, although the current cost of the computer and service agreement for each family is roughly $215, according to Comp-U-Dopt CEO Megan Steckly. A drive-thru distribution event will be held in September, and the first 100 families were selected this week.
“Several donors have told me that they see this as a great way to make a tangible, sustainable difference in a time when a lot of us feel overwhelmed by everything going on around us,” Mayor Joe Meyer said.
“Covington Connect” seeks to remove a huge barrier to economic and education opportunity that has held many Covington families back, he said.
“This project is critical,” Meyer said. “Think of how many times you and your family accessed the internet in the last week, whether it was so your kid could listen to their teacher and do homework or so you could pay a bill, cash a paycheck, order something, research something, attend a webinar or apply for a job.”
Read the NKyTribune’s story about Covington Connect and Comp-U-Dopt here.