CONWAY, NEW HAMPSHIRE / ACCESS Newswire / September 9, 2025 / Digitunity, a national nonpro?t organization dedicated to making computer ownership possible for everyone, announces a new project in collaboration with AT&T to expand digital navigator services. This project will reach approximately 13,200 people in rural communities nationwide.
Supported by $725,000 from AT&T, this 12-month effort will equip local organizations in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana with essential resources so residents can bene?t from technology opportunities: computers, digital skills training, and support for affordable internet access.
Digitunity identi?ed a need for this project in its work across the country. "Digital navigators," individuals trained to provide support and way?nding to community members seeking computer access, internet access, and digital skills training, are only as effective as the resources available to them. By bundling essential tools and support, this project will strengthen not only established digital inclusion programs but also activate a broad range of trusted community organizations, such as veterans' services, healthcare providers, and adult education centers, to meet the technology needs of the people they serve.
In addition to expanding computer ownership, digital skills, and affordable connectivity, the project will integrate siloed efforts into a cohesive, holistic approach, ultimately improving the effectiveness of digital navigation, with replicability and scalability in mind.
"Digital navigators play a crucial role in eliminating the digital divide," said Scot Henley, Executive Director of Digitunity. "Through AT&T's generous support, we will provide these trusted local partners with robust resources for how their clients can obtain computers, digital skills training, and affordable connectivity. This work is about shaping and strengthening the systems rural communities need for lasting digital opportunity, while also supporting individual success."
This collaboration is part of AT&T's ongoing $5 billion commitment to narrow the digital divide by 2030. The project's approach, which leverages community networks to reach people at scale, aims to strengthen the digital navigator and digital skills training model and build sustainable systems for computer ownership.
"At AT&T, we believe that access to technology and digital skills is essential for unlocking opportunity in every community," said Mylayna Albright, Assistant Vice President of Corporate Responsibility, AT&T. "By collaborating with Digitunity on this initiative, we're helping to empower thousands of people in rural areas with the tools, training, and support they need to participate fully in today's digital world, ensuring that more families can connect, learn, and thrive-no matter where they live."
The initiative will focus particular attention on Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, where the need for computers is exceptionally high. According to 2023 U.S. Census data, nearly a quarter of all households in these states do not have a desktop or laptop computer, or they rely on smartphones alone for essential tasks like education, healthcare, and employment.
Between September 2025 and August 2026, the project aims to:
Deliver Digital Skills Training: 10,500 people will participate in AT&T's digital literacy courses, developed in collaboration with the Public Library Association, and use AT&T's ScreenReady tools and courses hosted by local nonpro?t and community organizations.
Place Essential Technology: 2,500 donated and refurbished computers, sourced through Digitunity's national network, will be distributed to individuals and families in need.
Support Community Navigators: 200 digital navigators will receive training and resource kits to help them connect people with computers, skills, and affordable internet.
About Digitunity
Digitunity is a national nonpro?t organization making computer ownership possible for everyone. For over 40 years, Digitunity has worked to close the digital divide in the United States by shaping and strengthening systems that enable computer ownership.
Digitunity sources and places computers with a network of over 1,600 community-based organizations, supports digital skills programs, and provides strategic advisory services to states and cities. With one in seven U.S. households lacking a computer at home, this national-local approach mobilizes resources, influences policy, and builds durable solutions that expand opportunities, participation, and economic mobility. Learn more at digitunity.org.
About Philanthropy & Social Innovation at AT&T
At AT&T, our corporate responsibility work is dedicated to bridging the digital divide across the country. We are committed to providing people of all ages and from every community with the essential resources they need to thrive in the digital era. For generations, we have supported programs that impact millions of individuals nationwide, and since 2021, we have committed $5 billion to initiatives that enhance connectivity, promote digital literacy, and improve access to high-speed internet. Our efforts particularly focus on uplifting underserved communities, including students, older adults, and those on tribal lands, ensuring everyone can participate in the digital world and benefit from its opportunities.?
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SOURCE: Digitunity
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View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:
https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/computers-technology-and-internet/digitunity-and-atandt-launch-initiative-to-scale-digital-navigato-1066575
