Tech non-profit opens up in Mesa and starts work right away

MESA, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) — It’s amazing how far we’ve come since computers and the internet took off in the past decades. But despite computers being commonplace and almost everyone using the internet, a lot of people can’t afford either of them. Compudopt, a non-profit focused on that digital divide, recently opened a location in Mesa and it helps underserved communities by giving out free computers and setting up homes with Wi-Fi.

The non-profit held its first drive-thru distribution event yesterday, handing out computers to 150 pre-selected graduation seniors from local Mesa High Schools. Compudopt estimates there are about 50,000 to 55,000 households in Mesa that don’t have their own home computers or lack access to the internet.

But with a $7 million investment from its partners at Santander Consumer, Compudopt was able to expand here in Arizona, which is now the 19th state the organization serves. Over the next two years, the non-profit and its community partners will give out some 7,500 computers to eligible families and connect 10,000 homes with free or low-cost internet!

“It’s a basic need at this point,” a spokesperson for the Mesa branch said. “So our work is really about creating foundations for economic mobility. For families to simply be able to reach the services the rest of us reach from the comfort of their own home — from education, telehealth and workforce — whatever their needs are, we can solve it with technology.”

The non-profit will also offer digital skill building to more than 24,000 people, as well as work with after school programs to hundreds of kids in Mesa and we think that is Something Good!

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