ACCESS TO THE NET

This month Comcast and several local organizations launched an Internet Essentials Learning Zone, offering low-income families in Springfi eld Internet service at a reduced cost of $10 a month. By using this service, families will also be able to purchase a laptop for $150 from Computer Banc., a Springfi eld nonprofi t. Through partners like the Boys & Girls Club of Central Illinois, Faith Coalition for the Common Good, Nehemiah Expansion, Inc. and Springfi eld School District 186, parents and students now have Internet access and digital literacy training available to them while attending a partnering center. For a family in Springfi eld to be eligible, at least one child has to be enrolled in the national school lunch program regardless of the type of school. In Springfi eld, about 67 percent of the students in the district qualify for the program, according to the Illinois State Board of Education. “We’re getting together nonprofi t community organizations, as well as faith-based organizations, other entities and school districts to form a partnership to help bridge the digital divide,” says Debra Piscola, Comcast senior director government and external affairs relations. For more information, visit internetessentials.com.