October has always held a special place in our hearts. Not just because it’s the start of spooky season (though, that too), but because every October 4 – 8 is National Digital Inclusion Week!
For those five days, organizations across the country take time to recognize the importance of digital equity in building a more sustainable, just society.
However, though much of our work is made possible through the support of businesses and organizations, individuals have just as much of a part to play in bridging the digital divide.
That’s why we wanted to tell our readers about five simple things they can do to promote digital equity.
1. Spread the Word About Human-I-T
The more people that know about Human-I-T and what we stand for, the less work we have to put into educating them about the crises we’re fighting.
Instead, we’ll be able to spend our time helping them problem-solve about how they can help bridge the digital divide and shrink the e-waste stream.
So, if you know of a non-government organization in your community or a local business that doesn’t know what to do with their used technology, tell them they can put it to good use by working with Human-I-T!
2. Stay Up to Date About Digitally Inclusive (and Exclusive) Legislation.
There’s that old phrase “Knowledge is power”. Well, it’s true!
There are a litany of politicians who are using their positions of power to provide every American with access to affordable, quality digital technology and internet connections.
These politicians need us to be actively expressing our support for their bills – either by talking about it on social media, calling their representatives, or applying direct pressure at the local level through organizing – if they’re going to have a chance of passing.
On the flip side, there are also politicians who seek to minimize digital accessibility and affordability by relying on a lack of public resistance to pass harmful proposals.
However, if just a small percentage of people held these politicians accountable, we can ensure that their harmful policies can’t impact others.
If we just stay informed and stick together, we can enshrine digital equity into law!
3. Donate Your Old Technology to Human-I-T
Let’s level for a second: we all have that one, old, decrepit laptop or phone just lying around, taking up space in our drawers or closets.
Why do we let these old devices take up space, collect dust, and be of no use to anybody? Thankfully, there’s a better way to handle your old technology: donate it to Human-I-T!
We’ll wipe your old device of all sensitive data and then refurbish it before using it to empower somebody in-need with digital access!
4. Become a Financial Supporter of Human-I-T
If you don’t have any old technology lying around but still want to help us empower people with digital access, one really easy way to do that is to donate money to us!
Every in-kind donation helps us not only keep the lights on and pay our staff, but it also enables us to grow our digital inclusion programs as well as expand our reach across the country.
Plus, every donation you make to Human-I-T is tax deductible! That means, every time you financially support, you’ll end up putting cash back into your pocket come tax season.
5. Host a Technology Drive
Some people get really fired up over digital inclusion. Trust us, we know the feeling.
But, if there’s one thing we’ve learned since starting, it’s that no one person (or even organization) can shrink the digital divide alone.
That’s why we encourage people to rally their community around the cause of digital inclusion by hosting a technology drive!
Don’t worry, we make it super easy for you. We supply all the marketing materials you need to get the word out, and we come pick up all of the donated technology once the drive is over.
All you have to do is encourage people to come and drop off their technology!
Of course, there’s no real reason for you to wait until it’s Digital Inclusion Week to do any of these things that we’ve talked about.
The more people we can get to take small steps every day to promote digital inclusion, the easier it will be for us to create a society where everyone has equal access to opportunities!
