Photos: Wikimedia Commons
NEW YORK, NY – October 18, 2022 – Spectrum today announced Medgar Evers College Educational Foundation Inc. has received a $25,000 Spectrum Digital Education Grant for The Percy Ellis Sutton Search for Education, Elevation, and Knowledge (SEEK) program. The grant is part of the broadband connectivity provider’s six-year, $8 million commitment to promote digital education and broadband technology in communities across the country.
Medgar Evers College, part of the City University of New York, will use the funding through its SEEK program to provide 50 laptops and science simulation software to incoming freshmen students, and train technology mentors on use of the software. Students will receive hands-on, immersive learning experiences that will complement classroom lectures and reinforce challenging concepts in science, technology, engineering and math.
“In our online world, digital skills are critical to navigating everything from finding a job, to going to school, to buying groceries – yet too many families still have not adopted internet at home,” said Rahman Khan, Vice President of Community Impact for Charter Communications, Inc., which operates the Spectrum brand of Internet, Mobile, TV, and Voice services. “As one of the largest internet providers in the U.S., Spectrum is committed to supporting local initiatives like Medgar Evers College Educational Foundation that promote digital literacy and inclusion, and help educate community members in New York City about the value of adopting broadband in their lives so they can succeed in today’s connected society.”
Sherrill-Ann Mason, SEEK Program Director at Medgar Evers College, said “The SEEK Program at Medgar Evers College is extremely excited about the support the Spectrum Digital Education Grant will provide our students. Our students are full of potential but are some of the neediest at the university. Therefore, providing technical support can be a game-changer in ensuring that students can stay connected and on top of their studies by having a dedicated computer for the duration of their studies at Medgar Evers College.”
Founded in 1965, SEEK is a New York State-funded program designed to meet the needs of students from low-income households and disadvantaged neighborhoods or schools that have underprepared them for college. The program is offered at senior (four-year) City University of New York colleges to New York State residents who do not meet traditional admissions criteria but demonstrate potential for academic success.
SEEK provides a holistic support system that includes up to five years of academic and financial assistance to ensure students are supported throughout their time in college, minimize the barriers to student success, and promote college persistence and completion. Students receive free counseling, advisement, tutoring, technology support, and peer mentorship.
Medgar Evers College Educational Foundation is one of 47 nonprofit organizations that Spectrum is supporting through its 2022 Spectrum Digital Education Grant program. In all, the company will invest $1.1 million this year to support digital literacy in underserved rural and urban communities within Spectrum’s 41-state service area, including New York. Spectrum launched the program in 2017, recognizing that education and digital literacy are as important as affordability relative to a household’s lack of broadband services. Excluding this year’s awards, Charter has funded 99 nonprofit organizations and more than 95,000 people in 22 states and Washington, D.C. through Spectrum Digital Education.
More information about Spectrum Digital Education and Charter’s philanthropic initiatives to support communities is available here: https://corporate.charter.com/community-impact
