"Devices for Underprivileged Students" is an initiative started by the Young Changemakers of NorthSouth(YCNS) in April 2020. During the COVID-19 pandemic, YCNS learned about the students who have not been privileged enough to have access to the necessary equipment to continue effective learning. North South Foundation(NorthSouth), with their commitment to Education, wanted to give back to the community by providing electronic devices to the underserved children and approached the team of YCNS with the idea of bridging the digital divide.

Inspired by the cause, YCNS, a group of young minds ranging from elementary to high school, passionate about making a difference in the world, have collaborated to create this initiative to provide devices for education. Through the initiative, the plan is to enable easy access to remote learning to as many underprivileged students as possible and bring smiles to their faces.

Since the initiative went national in May 2020, YCNS has been able to donate 331 Chromebooks to 5 schools which include Sayler Park (OH), Woodward Park Middle (OH), Columbia High (GA), and Sycamore Park Elementary (VA), Bowen High School (IL) in 4 states. The team would continue efforts through this initiative to bridge the digital gap to as many students as possible.

YCNS says, "In an ideal world, we would like to support every child's need for an electronic device in the country for their effective learning despite the hard times. We believe with education, we can close the economic gap, which automatically empowers the underserved community. As Young Changemakers of NorthSouth, this is our effort to help the underprivileged children of the country, to continue learning and enable themselves to a brighter future as well as to make the world more socially equitable".

As Covid-19 pandemic hit us, the digital divide expanded as everyone did not have the luxury of flexible learning. Given NorthSouth’s commitment to Education, the Foundation wanted to give back to the community by providing electronic devices to the underserved children. NorthSouth approached the team of YCNS with the idea of bridging the digital divide. Inspired by the cause, all the YCNS paused on their individual projects and joined forces together to create the “Devices for Education” initiative. Through our initiative, we plan to provide electronic devices to as many underprivileged students as possible and bring smiles to their faces.

Strategy:
As a team, we have laid out criteria for choosing the schools and prioritizing them. We chose Title-1 schools with >50% of students that receive free lunch as major criteria along with grade level. A questionnaire was provided by our team to the volunteers who helped identify eligible schools in their local communities. After reviewing the responses, we further prioritized based on the percentage of free lunches. Each device, as requested by schools, would be provided to a free lunch student who is in need. Our parent organization, North South Foundation (NorthSouth) will match up to a max of $25,000 and the rest is fundraised by us, Young Changemakers of NorthSouth.

Plan:
As we all know the need is much more than what we see here. As of 5/15/2020 we identified 27 schools and aspire to help all the 27 schools that responded, and many more as possible. We are currently limited by our funding and we plan to continue to provide as funding allows.

Current statistics as of 6/30/2020

• With $108 per device and our minimum target of $50,000,462 devices can be provided to 10 schools serving >90% free lunches.
• As of 6/17/2020 we have delivered 195 Chromebooks to five schools from Cincinnati OH, Columbus OH, Atlanta GA, and Culpeper VA.
• We are ready to provide for another 90 devices to two other schools
• The schools with 50-70% free lunches will be on the waiting list as we raise more funds.
• With speculations of a second wave of the pandemic in fall, we need to be prepared - not just for 1678 devices from 27 schools but many more.
• We would continue to support as funding becomes available. With facts laid out, we request ongoing support from you, so we are able to provide to the currently identified students and also many more in need to provide educational opportunities.

As a result of our fundraising efforts, we have been able to donate over 195 Chromebooks to five different schools over the spectrum of three states: Georgia, Ohio, and Virginia. These schools include Sayler Park, Woodward Park Middle, Pontiac, Columbia High, and Sycamore Park Elementary.

Thank you for all of the generous support that you provided to this campaign. It means a lot to us that these underprivileged students have the same opportunities as anyone else and you all are making that possible. We appreciate all of the support you have given us and we will continue forward to change more lives. With all of your help, we have crossed the 50% mark of our goal, and have impacted so many students’ lives.