Leaders from the youth organization and Kwikbit joined together at the Mahar House Tuesday, Aug. 31, to celebrate the installment of a WIFI transmitter.
The Boys & Girls Club of L.A. Harbor took a step towards closing the digital divide in its community this week.
The club’s Wilmington chapter will now be able to provide kids at its Mahar House location with internet access through a partnership with Minneapolis based Kwikbit Inc., which specializes in wireless broadband services.
Leaders from the youth organization and Kwikbit joined together at the Mahar House Tuesday, Aug. 31, to celebrate the installment of a WIFI transmitter.
“The digital divide may have been made worse by the pandemic,” said Joe Costello, CEO of Kwikbit and former Boys and Girls club member. “But it has been a problem plaguing us for many years.”
“Today,” he added, “we take a crucial step in closing that divide,” Costello said, “and ensuring our children have proper internet access that will allow them to succeed in their education.”
More than 182,000 households do not have a computer in Los Angeles County, according to the United States Census data, with nearly 365,000 households lacking internet service. Boys & Girls Club of the LA Harbor serves over 2,600 children daily across 20 locations in Los Angeles, including in Wilmington.
“Our kids rely on internet access for their education,” said Harbor chapter Executive Director Mike Lansing. “If we want our younger generation to succeed they need to have the means and access to do so.”
Kwikbit’s WIFI transmitter will allow for greater internet accessibility even beyond the Mahar House.
Its technology is also able to deliver broadband to nearby communities, many which house Boys and Girls members. The transmitter has around a 3 block radius, according to Bryan Jebo, chief operations officer for the youth organization, but can be extended by establishing other WIFI
points to boost the signal.
After the ceremony, kids returned indoors to partake in educational group activities using the club’s laptops.
With this greater internet connectivity, Jebo said, kids will have greater access to homework services, study programs and the STEM — or science, technology, engineering and mathematics — curriculum.
