World Education Services (WES), a non-profit social enterprise that helps international students, immigrants, and refugees achieve their educational and career goals in the U.S. and Canada, has partnered with Digitunity, a national non-profit organization dedicated to making computer ownership possible for everyone, to help close the digital gap and support immigrant and refugee communities in accessing affordable technology.
WES’s philanthropic arm, the Mariam Assefa Fund, focuses on advancing inclusive economies and communities through grantmaking, impact investing, and partnerships. In partnership with Digitunity, WES donated 877 useful devices to four non-profit organizations across the U.S. and Canada via Digitunity’s technology matching platform. This initiative has provided meaningful access to digital technology for immigrants, refugees, and international students, and has also managed electronic waste sustainably.
Through this collaboration, WES and Digitunity sought to dismantle barriers that disproportionately impact underserved communities and prevent them from thriving. This project demonstrates how collaborative efforts can help reduce carbon footprints, create opportunities for populations facing inequitable technology barriers, and learn about sustainable practices, the importance of technology ownership for the underserved, and the needs of the communities in which we live and work.
WES encourages other organizations to follow their lead and partner with Digitunity to donate excess technology. By doing so, they can help enhance digital equity and environmental stewardship, one device at a time, for a more inclusive and equitable society. The partnership between WES and Digitunity will continue to flourish as WES learns from other members of Digitunity’s national practitioner network and explores additional digital equity opportunities.
