United Way donates laptops, sets up fund to provide computers to Baltimore City Public School students

With the start of a remote school year rapidly approaching, Baltimore families and educators scramble to prepare. In Baltimore City, roughly 75,000 households, or one in three, do not have either a desktop or laptop computer, according to a recent study by the Abell Foundation. Around 15,000 households with children do not have either a desktop or laptop computer. These disparities are particularly pronounced for low-income houses with children – 80 percent of homes lacking computers are in the bottom half of the city’s income distribution. 

Recognizing the need, local nonprofits have stepped up to improve remote learning conditions for students in Baltimore City public schools. The United Way of Central Maryland, for one, has created a fund to get computers into the hands of students. Using a donation of $10,000 from Amazon, United Way started the Digital Divide Fund. To immediately address the lack of access to devices, the organization purchased 650 Amazon Fire Tablets to be distributed to students in their network. Since March, the fund has raised over $20,000 and is currently open for donations from individuals.

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Source: Baltimore Fishbowl