The City of Seattle is doling out over half a million bucks to bolster digital smarts across the board, from low-income families to tech-clueless seniors. Mayor Bruce Harrell crowed about the $545,000 windfall that's going to be divvied up among 18 community groups - all aimed at upping digital equity in the city. He was quoted on Seattle Information Technology, saying that the moola meshes with his 'One Seattle vision', making sure opportunities are "available to every person in every neighborhood."
This cash influx is music to the ears of folks like Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth, who heads up the Parks, Public Utilities, and Technology Committee. "Whether it’s getting a modem and laptop for their homes so they can apply for jobs, or learning email so they can communicate with their child’s teacher, it’s all so empowering for them," Hollingsworth gushed according to Seattle Information Technology. Comcast is chucking in $59,500 of corporate support to keep the digital party going for even more projects.
And none too soon, according to Seattle's bigwigs. A city study dug up some disturbing dirt: a whopping 22% of Seattleites confess they're all thumbs when it comes to techy stuff. Over 17,000 households are scrimping by on less than one internet-ready gizmo per person, and around 8,123 homes have zilch, nada, and no internet access whatsoever. The whole shebang – the Technology Matching Fund – lets non-profit outfits apply for up to $35,000 each, assuming they can scrounge up a 25% match in cash or contributions.
Seattle's Interim Chief Technology Officer Jim Loter tossed his two cents in, "Our yearly Technology Matching Fund grant program gives people not only a start but a strong boost to gain the skills and confidence to navigate this way of our life," he said, according to Seattle Information Technology. In this year's funding fiesta, Casa Latina, Dabuli, the Eritrean Community in Seattle, and Vicinity, among others, banked some serious cash, all to get the digitally disenfranchised up to snuff. The community pitched in $391,260 to meet the matching funds requirement.
The lowdown on who got what is clear as day – 37 applications came in, with folks asking for over $1.1 million in support. The lucky ones were chosen by a squad of 14 community volunteers, including big brains from the Community Technology Advisory Board, Seattle Pacific University, and various other organizations, all overseen by Seattle's Information Technology Department. Check out the full list of who's getting a piece of the pie and other geeky stuff on Seattle's tech site.
