DIGITAL EQUITY : EDUCATION
IF THERE ’ S ONE THOUGHT that keeps Tanesha Grant , the Harlem , New York – based founder of nonprofit alliance
Parents Supporting Parents NYC ( PSP ), running at full speed , it ’ s that not only do the 1.1 million students in New York City ’ s public school system need help — their parents do , too .
“ With a pandemic going on , our children need resources right now ,” Grant , a mother of three , says . “ I know how hard it is to be a parent and deal with the education system with no support .” Grant has made it her mission to aid as many parents as she can emotionally and financially . Sometimes this means PSP helps to pay electric bills and past-due rent . Other times it means forging a partnership with HP PATH , part of the company ’ s goal to accelerate digital equity for 150 million people by 2030 , to host laptop community giveaways and fundraising events to get students the technology and skill-building materials they need to keep from being left behind academically .
At a PSP event at P . C . Richard & Son in Harlem this past summer , the laptops were flying out the door
A . Philip Randolph High School , received a laptop , printer , and paper . “ It ’ s going to help me do homework because I don ’ t really have electronics to do it on , and if I need to print anything , I can , with paper ,” she says . “ My sister told me that it ’ s good to have your own computer .”
Mariah and Marquis Wigfall , 17 , seniors at NYC
iSchool , were previously sharing a device at home . “ This will help us for a long time through the rest of high school and in college ,” Maria says of her new
“ Most of the recipients have never had their own laptop . It tells them they are good enough to receive the best when the system that provides their education , at every turn , tells them they aren ’ t .” — TANESHA GRANT
laptop , which will ensure that she and her twin continue to learn independently .
“ It ' s empowering to know there are people who have never met you , but think enough of you to give you a new laptop ,” says Grant .
— Sarah Murry , with reporting by Bellamy Richardson
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