Mission: Tech Goes Home empowers communities to access and use digital tools to overcome barriers and advance lives.
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IN THIS ISSUE:
- Fall at Tech Goes Home
- TGH Receives National Award
- Webinar Series Takes Off
- TGH Welcomes New Staff & Board Members
- Video Storytelling Highlights Impact of Digital Inclusion
- Census & Voting
- Digital Inclusion Week: October 5-9, 2020
- TGH in the Media
- Digital Inclusion Reading Round-Up
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TGH Instructor Falon Eke delivers a Chromebook to a TGH family |
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The past six months have been filled with Distance Learning courses, webinars, technology deliveries, and redoubling our efforts to keep our communities safe and connected. As we head into the fall, we are excited to apply what we’ve learned since pivoting to distance learning and make our programs even stronger.
Tech Goes Home continues bringing together the critical trio of digital skills, internet, and a device on which our community members can continue their education, apply for jobs and unemployment benefits, order essentials online, and access telehealth. Since we moved completely online in mid-March, we have already graduated over 1,480 learners from our Distance Learning courses, and nearly 200 learners are currently enrolled. So far this year, a total of 2,543 learners have graduated from our programs.
We couldn't have done it without our strong community of instructors, learners, partner sites, volunteers, and supporters! Thank you for your commitment to digital equity.
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TGH RECEIVES NATIONAL AWARD |
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Earlier this month, TGH was recognized by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as one of the inaugural honorees of the Digital Opportunity Equity Recognition (DOER) Program, which highlights individuals and organizations across the country who are working to expand digital inclusion. Tech Goes Home is honored to receive this recognition along with fellow digital equity leaders across the country.
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Haven't had the chance to attend a webinar yet? We have more scheduled this fall. Check out our past and upcoming webinars here.
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TGH WELCOMES NEW STAFF & BOARD MEMBERS |
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Left to Right: Natalie Petit, Program Coordinator; Antonio Lobo, Board Member; Adam Goff, Board Member |
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We are excited to announce that one staff member and two board members have joined the Tech Goes Home team!
In July we welcomed our newest staff member, Natalie Petit, who is TGH’s Program Coordinator! Natalie graduated from Emmanuel College with a B.A. in Developmental Psychology. She participated in the Black Student Union and other clubs at Emmanuel. During her last year in college, she interned as a tutor at Codman Academy Charter Public School. She found it to be an amazing opportunity and was able to provide students with the tools they needed to score well on the MCAS. Natalie is bilingual in English and Haitian Creole. About her experience with TGH so far, Natalie said, "Being part of a team that helps individuals learn technology and promote lives is tremendously meaningful."
We also had the pleasure of welcoming two new additions to our Board of Directors, Antonio Lobo and Adam Goff. Antonio has been a TGH instructor for six years and has trained more than 2,000 TGH learners, many non-English speaking. He is currently an Advisory & Career Counselor at Catholic Charities in Boston and an English Innovations Project Consultant at Maverick Landing Community Services. For Antonio, digital inclusion means "the ability to create a plan and harness resources to tackle social inequality by bringing equity to the most vulnerable population of a society." Regarding his new role as a board member, Antonio said, "To be able to play a direct role in the decision making of how the harnessed resources are distributed and how the action plans are drawn in order to best serve those in need is both a huge responsibility and a great honor. I am humbled to be part of this great group of people and to give my humble contribution to this great cause."
Adam, who is currently Vice President of Sales at Box, was first introduced to TGH when he visited a course back in 2017. Digital inclusion work clearly resonated with him, and he has been enthusiastically involved in our work ever since as a champion, donor, fundraiser, and TGH Advisor. He's been a dedicated attendee of all TGH events, and he hosted TGH for a lunch and learn with his colleagues. On the importance of digital inclusion work, Adam said, "Access to the internet, a computer, and the training to use both effectively is no longer a 'nice to have.' People of all ages need digital access to learn, work, find opportunities, research, and make connections. For those of us with this access, it’s our responsibility to ensure all others have it as well."
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VIDEO STORYTELLING HIGHLIGHTS IMPACT OF DIGITAL INCLUSION |
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TGH Graduate Raquel discusses her TGH experience |
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Over the summer, TGH conducted a video campaign to collect stories from graduates about their experience in the TGH program. We were grateful to receive many incredible submissions, including this video from TGH Graduate Raquel, who has used the digital skills and technology she gained through TGH to support her children in their distance learning schoolwork. To watch more videos from our graduates, please visit our YouTube playlist.
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TGH staff making calls with Verizon volunteers during MA Voter Table's census phone banking virtual event |
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This fall, Tech Goes Home is focusing on census completion and voter engagement to make sure every voice in our community is heard.
TGH has been spreading information about completing the 2020 Census in our courses, by email, on social media, and over the phone. We took part in MA Voter Table's virtual phone banking events, and we engaged an incredible group of volunteers from Verizon to phone bank with us. Our survey results show that our outreach is working: 72% of TGH learners have completed their census and 11% are unsure if they have completed their census, compared to Boston's current self-response rate of 56.5%.
TGH Instructors are receiving information about incorporating voter registration resources into the courses they teach, and TGH looks forward to continuing our work with impactful organizations like MA Voter Table that are well known in the community for their voter engagement work.
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DIGITAL INCLUSION WEEK: OCTOBER 5-9, 2020 |
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Join Tech Goes Home in recognizing Digital Inclusion Week (DIW), October 5-9, 2020! The goal of DIW is to raise awareness of solutions addressing home internet access, personal devices, and local technology training and support programs. DIW2020 is sponsored by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance representing more than 450 affiliated organizations in 44 states working toward digital equity.
This Digital Inclusion Week, we encourage the whole TGH community to get involved by:
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Posting a DIW Placard Photo with the hashtag #digitalequityNOW (don't forget to tag @techgoeshome too!)
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Participating in the Internet Costs Speak Out on social media
- Amplifying TGH's social media posts about Digital Inclusion Week
For more information about Digital Inclusion Week and how you can participate, visit the official webpage.
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DIGITAL INCLUSION READING ROUND-UP |
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TGH’s work is only possible with contributions from donors, like you, and municipal, corporate, and foundation grants. Thank you for supporting TGH.
An extra thank you to the following lead donors for their extraordinary support!
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