Th ough the 3 Southe States Co ected Commu ities P og am, Digitu ity a d AT&T a e wo ki g with local commu ity o ga izatio s to p ovide efu bished laptops pai ed with digital skills t ai i g to stude ts, adult lea e s, a d families who p eviously did ot ow a compute . The wo k is happe i g i collabo atio with local o ga izatio s, i cludi g Ca opy Child e ‘s Solutio s a d Coahoma Commu ity College i Mississippi a d the U ive sity of A ka sas at Mo ticello College of Tech ology-McGehee (UAM-CTM) i A ka sas.
Digitu ity se ves as the ce t al co ecto a d coo di ato , alig i g device do o s, efu bishe s, fu de s, a d local o ga izatio s to e su e compute s each the people who eed them. Millio s of people have to complete o li e tasks such as homewo k, job applicatio s, a d ma agi g thei healthca e without a home compute . Digitu ity’s a alysis of 2024 Ame ica Commu ity Su vey data shows that 32.9 millio people a d 1 i 7 households i the U ited States do ot ow a compute . The eed is especially g eat i the a eas se ved by the 3 Southe States Co ected Commu ities P og am, whe e 23% of households i Mississippi, 22% i A ka sas, a d 21% i Louisia a do ot have a la ge-sc ee compute . Nea ly 930,000 households ac oss these th ee states lack a compute .
Compute ow e ship helps emove ba ie s that public compute s a d sma tpho es ca ot solve. Stude ts without a compute ca st uggle to complete assig me ts outside the class oom. Adult lea e s pu sui g ce tificatio s o deg ees may be limited by the availability of public compute s. Families without a eliable la ge-sc ee device face challe ges avigati g o li e school a d wo k fo ms, accou ts, healthca e po tals, a d gove me t se vices.
O e stude t co ected th ough Ca opy Child e ‘s Solutio s desc ibed what it mea t to eceive a laptop afte yea s without o e:
“I have ot had a laptop fo 15 yea s; this class a d oppo tu ity to ef esh my k owledge a d lea ew thi gs is goi g to help me a lot. I have also bee goi g to the lib a y fo so ma y yea s, just because we have ot bee fi a cially able to affo d a compute o laptop. I am beyo d g ateful fo Ca opy Child e Se vices a d eve yo e helpi g put eve ythi g togethe so wo de fully. My family is beyo d wo ds fo eve ythi g eceived a d the ki d ess a d wa m hea ts f om all of the staff.”
The pa ticipa t’s expe ie ce sha es the p og am’s b oade goal: pai i g laptops with local suppo t so i dividuals a d families ca use tech ology with co fide ce.
Digitu ity coo di ates the pa t e ships, p ocesses, a d systems that make compute ow e ship possible, co ecti g compute s with the people who eed them th ough t usted local o ga izatio s. Ac oss A ka sas, Louisia a, a d Mississippi, local commu ity o ga izatio s k ow thei commu ities’ eeds best. They build t usted elatio ships, ide tify local eeds, p ovide t ai i g suppo t, a d co ect people to commu ity esou ces. Digitu ity’s atio al deployme t etwo k of co po ate efu bishme t a d commu ity pa t e s helps di ect available eti ed a d do ated tech ology to i dividuals who eed a f ee compute .
I southeast A ka sas, the U ive sity of A ka sas at Mo ticello College of Tech ology-McGehee a d the UAM Adult Educatio Ce te embed compute ow e ship p og ams i existi g educatio a d wo kfo ce p og ams. Lau ched i Ja ua y 2026, the UAM-CTM Digital Lite acy P og am equips adult educatio stude ts with Digitu ity-sou ced efu bished laptops f om Capital A ea Co po ate Recycli g Cou cil (CACRC) i Bato Rouge, Louisia a. Stude ts who complete WAGE I a d WAGE II employability cou ses a e eligible to eceive a efu bished laptop, while stude ts i the Busi ess Office Tech ology a d Health I fo matio Tech ology p og ams ca bo ow laptops du i g thei studies a d keep them afte g aduatio . Ove the cou se of the p og am, 250 laptops will be dist ibuted. The lau ch b ought togethe educatio , wo kfo ce, gove me t, co po ate, efu bishme t, a d commu ity pa t e s, i cludi g UAM-CTM, the UAM Adult Educatio Ce te , Digitu ity, AT&T, A ka sas Wo kfo ce Co ectio s, the A ka sas State B oadba d Office, the City of McGehee, Co g essma B uce Weste ma ‘s office, a d local leade s. Each o ga izatio plays a ole i maki g compute ow e ship pa t of the local suppo t system fo adult lea e s.
I Mississippi, Ca opy Child e ‘s Solutio s builds t usted elatio ships with families th ough its LINK solutio , which combi es behavio al health, educatio , family suppo t se vices, a d esou ce avigatio to co ect families with local, state, a d fede al suppo t. Ca opy Child e ‘s Solutio s admi iste ed social eeds sc ee i gs, which showed that ma y families did ot have a compute at home, maki g it ha de fo clie ts to use vi tual admissio s, telehealth, the apy, a d educatio se vices. Digitu ity offe s f ee efu bished compute s to Ca opy clie ts, pai ed with digital lite acy wo kshops aimed to equip families with the skills eeded to use thei ew devices.
I May 2026, Ca opy Child e ‘s Solutio s celeb ated the g aduatio of 22 pa ticipa ts f om the digital lite acy wo kshop, who eceived f ee efu bished laptops. The I dia ola eve t pai ed laptop access with ha ds-o t ai i g, helpi g families use thei compute s safely a d effectively. Si ce ea ly 2025, Digitu ity has di ected 499 compute s to those i eed, showi g how o e eve t fits i to a la ge effo t to make compute ow e ship possible.
I Ap il 2026, Coahoma Commu ity College held a lau ch eve t i Cla ksdale, Mississippi, whe e 25 stude ts a d eside ts f om Boliva , Coahoma, Quitma , Tallahatchie, a d Tu ica cou ties eceived efu bished laptops, alo g with setup suppo t to use thei compute s fo cou sewo k, job applicatio s, a d othe esse tial tasks. Coahoma Commu ity College is the t usted local o ga izatio co ecti g stude ts a d eside ts ac oss the Delta to compute s, while Digitu ity, AT&T Mississippi, a d local media helped b i g visibility a d suppo t to the lau ch.
Compute ow e ship e ables stude ts, families, a d adult lea e s to apply fo jobs, ma age healthca e, complete educatio o li e, a d pa ticipate mo e fully i daily life. Ac oss A ka sas, Mississippi, a d Louisia a, these effo ts show that getti g laptops to people who eed them equi es mo e tha a device do atio . By co ecti g atio al esou ces with t usted local o ga izatio s, Digitu ity helps shape a d st e gthe local systems that make compute ow e ship p actical, sustai able, a d easie to eplicate ac oss commu ities.
Compute ow e ship is esse tial fo educatio , employme t, healthca e, a d full pa ticipatio i the mode eco omy. Yet ea ly 33 millio people i the U ited States do ‘t have a compute of thei ow . Digitu ity is a atio al o p ofit o ga izatio buildi g a coo di ated system to make compute ow e ship possible fo eve yo e. By co ecti g eti ed tech ology f om busi esses a d gove me t with t usted commu ity o ga izatio s atio wide, we’ e pu sui g a futu e whe e eve yo e has the tech ology to pa ticipate, compete, a d p ospe .
At AT&T, ou co po ate espo sibility wo k is dedicated to b idgi g the digital divide ac oss the cou t y. We a e committed to p ovidi g people of all ages a d f om eve y commu ity with the esse tial esou ces they eed to th ive i the digital e a. Fo ge e atio s, we have suppo ted p og ams that impact millio s of i dividuals atio wide, a d si ce 2021, we have committed $5 billio to i itiatives that e ha ce co ectivity, p omote digital lite acy, a d imp ove access to high-speed i te et. Ou effo ts pa ticula ly focus o uplifti g u de se ved commu ities, i cludi g stude ts, olde adults, a d u – o u de employed i dividuals, e su i g eve yo e ca pa ticipate i the digital wo ld a d be efit f om its oppo tu ities.
Co tact:Miye McCullough,
