One Economy Corporation Narrowing the digital divide
When 14-year-old Lavonda Gray first interviewed for a job with One Economy Corporation, she was far from excited. The whole thing had been her mother's idea. But when interviewers asked her about her favorite websites, she brightened. Her answer was not MySpace or YouTube. Lavonda, an African- American teen from San Francisco's Visitation Valley community, had been using the Internet to learn Spanish on her own since she was 10 years old.
The One Economy staff saw something very special in Lavonda and thought she was a perfect match for their Digital Connectors program, which identifi es and trains talented young people in technology, and helps them build their leadership and workplace skills to enter the 21st century economy.
Crossing the Digital Divide
One Economy Corporation is a global organization based in Washington, DC. According to its website, it "uses innovative approaches to deliver the power of technology and information to low-income people, giving them valuable tools for building better lives. Its mission "is to maximize the potential of technology to help low-income people improve their lives and enter the economic mainstream."
Leo Sosa, Youth Program Coordinator, manages One Economy's Digital Connectors (DC) West Coast programs. As he explains, "One Economy is the pioneer of bringing access to low-income people around the country. That's what attracted me almost fi ve years ago."
A Connective Collective
One Economy offers three major services.
- Online content within community forum websites such as the 24/7 Town Hall, (a civic engagement website), and the Beehive—an internet portal that helps users with essential tasks such as fi nding a job, creating a resume, fi nding information on fi nancing, and fi ling taxes. Sosa calls it "media with a purpose."
- Public policy initiatives including a campaign to create a public Internet to help families understand the value of utilizing and learning technology.
- Bringing digital technology into low-income homes, by working with regional housing developers and municipalities. An example is the "Bring It Home America" campaign. This program includes collaborations between high-tech companies and community-based nonprofi t organizations to bring technology to 12 million people living in subsidized housing.
The Digital Connector Program
San Francisco's Digital Connector program is part of the effort to bring digital technology into low-income homes and communities. The San Francisco pilot was launched in 2003. Its recruitment process can be very intensive and selective. Sometimes as many as 30 teens apply for fi ve available spots. Interested teens fi ll out an application and participate in a 30- minute panel interview.
Lavonda does most of her teaching at Visitation Valley's Community Beacon Center. Sosa shares, "When you give the power of technology to kids, they do amazing things. They come out of their shells and start doing things you'd never imagined. That's when you know that what you're doing with the Digital Connectors is a success."
Digital Connectors (DCs) learn about career development and opportunities through job shadowing, and by visiting such organizations as Google and Yahoo, and schools like San Francisco City College. The laptops they earn during their fi rst year help them in their jobs. Sosa explains that the program doesn't just hand them a laptop, but "creates a mechanism for DCs to start valuing and taking ownership of their lives. A computer helps them do that." At the end of the year, the DCs get to keep the laptop, and often come back and use the laptop to show new DCs. Younger children see the laptops and say, "I want to do that."
"TechSoup Global over the past several years 'has helped our cause and has been a very successful relationship in breaking the digital divide within our community.'"
Leo Sosa
Regional Director
Connecting with TechSoup Global
The DC program receives funding from several sources, including the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Full Circle Fund. The San Francisco Digital Connectors receive subsidized employment from the Mayor's Youth Employment and Education Program (MYEEP). Despite these wonderful resources, Sosa is always seeking new funding streams and low-cost assistance. Community members told him about TechSoup Global.
One Economy obtained many of their laptops for Digital Connectors through TechSoup Global's Refurbished Computer Initiative (RCI) Program, which provides high-quality refurbished computer systems at a considerable discount. Sosa explains that their work with TechSoup Global over the past several years "has helped our cause and has been a very successful relationship in breaking the digital divide within our community."
It also provides a community buzz – when DCs bring their laptops with them to work, community members ask, "That's a nice laptop – where did you get it?" DCs explain that they received the computers through TechSoup Global and are eager to share their experiences.
In March 2008, the program started bringing computers and software into the communities where they work. Sosa's goal is to provide a refurbished computer program in every program they launch.
Future Connections
Lavonda Gray, now 17-years-old, was part of the Digital Connector program for two and a half years. She has traveled to Nicaragua to teach children computer skills in Spanish, and now works for the Mayor's Youth Employment and Education Program (MYEEP). Part of her job is to screen new applicants for the Digital Connectors program in Visitation Valley. A junior in high school, she is preparing to go to college, where she says she "hopes to major in computer science or anything having to do with writing."
The Digital Connector program is not just about Lavonda's future, but about the 50,000 lives that she and other DCs have touched. In the fall of 2008, the program will continue its programs in the Visitation Valley and Mission District neighborhoods, and launch a pilot in Chinatown. One connection at a time, Lavonda and other Digital Connectors are making a difference in her community, with help from TechSoup Global.
