Bakersfield students receive free laptops and backpacks at back-to-school event

Through emPOWERment Dess Perkins Foundation, 200 Bakersfield students received free laptops, a backpack filled with school supplies, and a box of food to prepare for the new school year.

• Video shows emPOWERment Dess Perkins Foundation back-to-school giveaway
• D'Anthony Wilson has been working extra shifts at McDonald's to save up for a laptop, but after receiving a free laptop from the emPOWERment Dess Perkins Foundation back to school event, that money can go to tuition and college expenses.

These are the laptops and backpack 200 students received at emPOWERment the Dess Perkins Foundation event, and the organizers tell me this event will help close the digital divide.
Walking through this line, to pick up a box of food, a backpack and a laptop takes some of the stress off of D’Anthony Wilson’s shoulders.

“My reaction was like, I can finally finish my stuff like I’ve been waiting for this laptop," Wilson said. "I’ve been working extra hours.”

Wilson, a soon to be freshman at the University of California Merced, says he took on extra shifts at McDonald’s to save up for a laptop.

“Working along with going to school and stuff was really stressful,” he tells 23ABC.

He says this is the first laptop he’s owned since he returned his school-owned device.

During the pandemic, data from the Household Pulse Survey reports 59% of households with kids in school received computers from their school or district.

Odessa Perkins, the CEO and Founder of emPOWERment Dess Perkins Foundation, says that’s changed.

“The schools don’t give out laptops like that anymore.”

Through her foundation, Perkins gave 200 students laptops, a backpack filled with school supplies, and a box of food to prepare for the new school year.

“As a high school counselor, just hearing the different things that the students tell me, 'I can’t do my homework because I don’t have a laptop at home,'” she said.

A study conducted by the Economic Inquiry reports students with a laptop at home are 6 to 8% more likely to graduate from high school.

“I mean everything is done online. Even registering for programs like this is sometimes done on an online form," Paulina Sanchez with Human IT, an organization that provides laptops and resources on how to use them, said.

They partnered with AT&T to make Tuesday’s event possible, and Dan Revetto with AT&T says this isn’t the only event they’re working on.

He adds the internet provider is investing $5 billion nationwide to close the digital divide.

“Students in particular without a laptop computer, they’re at a disadvantage in their education which is going to be the key to success in their future,” Revetto said.

That’s a challenge, Alana Jackson an upcoming sophomore says she’s experienced when the computer she had at home stopped working.

“It would go slow, and there would be times where I wouldn’t be able to finish an assignment on time, so I’m really glad I got this new computer," she said.

Both Jackson and Wilson agree, this donation will allow them to focus on their studies in the upcoming school year to achieve their goals in the future.

“Now that I’ve got this laptop I can take a couple hours off and being able to just work on my studies and get this checklist done,” Wilson added.

If you need more resources on how to use your device you can find more information on Human IT's website, and you can find the details on how to register for emPOWERment's 2nd annual gala in September here .

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