Down to Business: Nonprofit helps bridge the digital divide by giving away laptops

HUBZone Technology Initiative (HTI), a nonprofit based in Henderson, is looking to expand its reach in Wilson to provide laptops and technological access to those in need in our community.

HTI Operations Manager Ronald Taylor, a Wilson native, said the mission is to bridge the digital divide for those who lack resources.

“We know that certain circumstances can become barriers, and we want to break those barriers by providing the supplies,” Taylor said. “We acquire donated laptops, usually through companies that are going through a refresh of their out of warranty laptops. We clean them and convert them into Google Chromebooks. The Chromeflex OS software makes them really user-friendly. It’s able to do whatever they need to fill out applications, schoolwork anything like that.”

HUBZone is already partnered with several community groups, including The SPOT (Sharing Positive Outcomes Together), St. Mark AME Church, YOUTH of Wilson, Match Volunteer Mentoring Program, Wilson Opportunities Center and Seeds of Hope. Taylor said St. Mark’s is the hub for Wilson, Edgecombe and Nash counties. Thanks to a $600,000 grant from the N.C. Department of Information Technology, the list of people served in Wilson should grow soon.

“As a part of that grant, we’ve committed to presenting 338 laptops in Wilson County over the next 2 1/2 years,” Taylor said.

Wilson, like much of eastern North Carolina, is a HUBZone, or Historically Underutilized Business Zone. HUBZones are economically distressed areas determined by the Small Business Administration, based on income and unemployment data.

“We specifically service HUBZone areas,” Taylor said. “We donate to other nonprofits and individuals who can apply online to receive a free laptop. Our website ( www.hubzonetech.org ) is a great resource for an organization or individual that wants to apply for laptops. They can apply there as well people that want to donate laptops or if they want to donate monetarily.”

Taylor said focusing on HUBZones is important because it’s an opportunity to help those who wouldn’t otherwise have access to necessary technology.

“It’s been awesome because we work with organizations that have clientele that usually have lost a lot or are dealing with extenuating circumstances,” Taylor said. “For most Americans, purchasing a laptop is not a big deal, but it’s a big deal for those that don’t have much. It’s important to be able to break into the technology realm — networking, job applications, everything’s online now. You have to have technology to do those things. It’s an important resource. We’re not just presenting a laptop, we’re presenting hope.”

Taylor said right now, the turnaround for applicants is a couple months out. HTI has two big annual events with Christmas and Christmas in July. He said because Christmas in July just wrapped up, HTI’s stock is a little short.

“We originally reached out to organizations, but as we continue to get older, we have a social media presence reaching people and they reach out to us,” Taylor said. “Now, we’re presenting between 10 to 30 laptops at a time on average.”

Christopher Long is The Wilson Times’ business reporter. If you have ideas for this weekly column, reach out to him at 252-265-7821 or clong@wilsontimes.com .

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