The Device Distribution and Refurbishment Program is one of the program areas of the Digital Equity Partnerships Program designed to meet the state's digital equity goals.
Projects under this program aim to secure new or used internet-connected devices that can be distributed to target populations. For used devices, individuals will be trained to refurbish devices. Used devices will be properly refurbished before distribution to end users. Partners will work with organizations or groups of organizations, who can individually or collaboratively support the activities described above, including community based organizations, workforce training providers, educational entities, non-profits, and private businesses. For projects involving the refurbishment of used devices, Partners will work with sub-awardees to procure or seek donations of used devices to meet the specific needs of the community the program aims to serve.
| Lead Grantee | Project Summary |
|---|---|
| City of Boston |
Project Description: As part of its Digital Equity Fund, the City of Boston includes three focus areas, including Device Refurbishment Programming. This Program will provide low-or no-cost devices to families that need them, while reducing the environmental impact on the lifecycle of these devices. These programs also provide pathways to employment, which benefits vulnerable groups. This component of the Digital Equity fund will seek partners that execute programs providing workforce development, training, and other activities while refurbishing devices that are provided to income-eligible residents. Geographies Served: Boston |
| Metro North Workforce Investment Board |
Project Description: This grant will increase the workforce board’s digital equity initiatives through the Digital Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Consortium, which will assist clients by recruiting, hiring, and training a cohort of 32 digital navigators to provide 1,500 refurbished Microsoft laptops, and 300 hotspots, coupled with digital literacy classes, internet access, and IT support. Geographies Served: The JEDI Consortium will assist clients at the MassHire Metro North Career Centers, MassHire North Shore Career Centers, and the following communities: Revere, Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Somerville, Cambridge, Lynn, Salem, and Gloucester |
| Tech Goes Home |
Project Description: Tech Goes Home’s (TGH) vision is to help Massachusetts become the first state in which all individuals have access to the digital tools, skills, and connectivity they need to thrive. This grant will support TGH in achieving this vision, by expanding its nationally recognized digital literacy programs in Gateway Cities. Geographies Served: Gateway Cities of Brockton, Chelsea, Everett, Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, New Bedford, Pittsfield, Quincy, Revere, Springfield, and Worcester |
| UMass Lowell |
Project Description: UMass Lowell’s higher education community partners will provide the student workforce and cultural competency to drive outreach, engagement, and rollout of digital services, including a cohort of student digital navigators who, along with UMass Lowell and other partner faculty and staff, will create a multi-tiered digital literacy and navigation initiative that establishes a regional help desk at UMass Lowell and advances new digital literacy programs in the service area. The device distribution component of the program includes 1,200 new or refurbished devices to accompany digital skill classes. Geographies Served: Gateway Cities of Leominster, Fitchburg, Lowell, Haverhill, and Lawrence, as well as many communities of the Merrimack Valley, Northern Worcester County and the North Shore |
| Vinfen, on behalf of the Human Services Alliance for Digital Equity |
Project Description: The goal of the Human Services Alliance for Digital Equity is to increase digital inclusion among eligible end beneficiaries of low-income people with physical, behavioral or cognitive disabilities and people who are homeless. The Alliance will deploy 15 regionally-based Technology Navigators who will support people with disabilities to obtain devices and learn how to use them. The Tech Navigators will be employed by the eight organizations of the Alliance. Geographies Served: 235 cities and towns of the Human Services Alliance for Digital Equity service area, in all counties except Dukes, Nantucket, and Bristol* *one Alliance organization, Riverside, does serve a small number of individuals in Taunton |