For families who came to the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center on Aug. 28 expecting a backpack full of school supplies, the day held an extra surprise: a free MacBook for their kids heading back to school.
AT&T and Human-I-T partnered with the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center to give away 250 refurbished laptops and 250 backpacks filled with school supplies to Minneapolis families affected by the digital divide. AT&T also donated $50,000 to the center to support its digital literacy programs.
“Nobody knew that they were going to be receiving laptops today,” said Bryan D. Tyner, president and CEO of the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center. “Everybody signed up just to receive a backpack of school supplies. So when Cheryl Riley, the regional president, announced that they were receiving Apple MacBooks, the joy and the surprise on the kids’ faces and on the parents’ faces, I think that was the best part for me, and then just watching the kids just enjoy themselves.”
Riley, president of AT&T’s Upper Midwest States, said in a statement that the giveaway was about giving students a fair shot at the school year…