Imagine there was no internet and instead, you had to work long hours in a library, navigating the Dewey decimal system through the stacks for a research project. Imagine not being able to Google . . . anything. It may seem hard to fathom, especially for a generation born into the digital age, but as nearly one million New York City public school students head back to the daily grind, there are many without the broadband access that most curriculums require.
That’s why in 2020, T-Mobile launched Project 10 Million – an initiative to end the digital divide and connect 10 million eligible, K-12 students across the country to a reliable internet connection by providing them with 100GBs of data a year for five years, free mobile hotspots and access to low-cost laptops and tablets. Eligibility includes, but is not limited to, those receiving Medicaid, foster youth, and those in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Since its inception, the program has connected six million students and provided more than $6 billion worth of products and devices.
“We are not going to stop until the problem is fixed,” Brigitta Witt told the Bronx Times, vice president of social impact and sustainability for T-Mobile.
On Tuesday, Sept. 24., Witt stood in a gymnasium full of more than 200 kids at the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club Lucile Palmaro clubhouse in Soundview and announced 200GB (approximately 650 hours) of free internet for each child’s household. And to help spread the good news, T-Mobile enlisted the help of Grammy-award-winner, Common.
As the rapper, actor and activist entered the gym at 1930 Randall Ave., he was greeted with emphatic screeches and welcomed with a choreographed routine by the teenage dance group K-Company to his 2021 song, “Imagine.”
“How many of you all know that you’re valued?” Common asked the room, but not everyone raised their hands. “Wi-Fi is something that we all use at some point in our lives, and everybody needs it because we need access to information, access to do our work, access to do things. And when I asked if you know that you are valued, it’s because you deserve access.”
According to a NYC Council report, almost 25% of households lack a high-speed internet subscription and for some community districts — many in the Bronx and high-poverty areas — that number is about 40%.
Common wowed the bleacher crowd with his freestyle, improvised by a kid in the crowd saying “woah,” as hundreds of feet stomped thunderously to the beat. But before Common entered the room, the kids were already smiling and laughing and participating in after-school activities.
Founded in 1915, the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club prides itself on providing educational and developmental programs with a focus on children ages six through 18. Last week, club leaders unveiled their building’s state-of-the-art renovations, with the building fully reopening to the neighborhood after being partially closed for construction. The clubhouse on Randall Avenue also features the only ice-skating rink in the Bronx, according to program director, Alberto Rodriguez.
“This is what impacted me,” Daniel Quintero told the Bronx Times, executive director of the Kips Bay Boys & Girl Club, when explaining his reason in working with the organization for more than 30 years. The former professional baseball player was a member of the club himself from eight to 18 years old.
“I left my blood sweat and tears on that floor,” Quintero said as he pointed to the gym floorboards.
Even the center’s administrative assistant was a member when she was younger and has an eight-year-old child in the program.
“It was my safe haven,” said Zoila Cordero-Medina. “And then coming back is like me giving back to these kids.”
Common preached words of encouragement to the excited students at the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club on Randall Avenue and stressed the importance of good adult role models and listed his mother, who was an educator, as a great motivator.
“You can tell when those teachers care more and they do more than just show up to class and she had that type of passion and love and commitment to young people,” he told the Bronx Times. “So, I think that inspired me, too.”
The center at Randall Avenue is one of nine under the Kips Bay umbrella, with free after-school registration which includes access to the game room, homework help and recreational swimming. Extra-curricular programming, provided at a fee, offers an array of sports clubs, choir, dance clubs, a culinary arts program and so much more. Contact your local Boys & Girls Club for more information.
“It’s a really fun place to be where you can meet a lot of new friends,” said eight-year-old member, Jeremy Medina.
Reach ET Rodriguez at etrodriguez317@gmail.com. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
