DANVILLE, Ill. (WCIA) — In an effort to help address the “digital divide,” several organizations worked together to give away 100 laptops for students and families in the Danville area.

AT&T and Compudopt gave 1,500 refurbished laptops to local organizations to distribute across Illinois. 100 of those laptops went to students — in kindergarten through 12th grade — in Danville. The computers were given to recipients who were selected before the event.

Volunteers from Project Success were at United Way of Danville Area, Inc. at 4 p.m. on Monday, helping hand them out.

The United Way of Danville Area CEO, Angie Lazzell, said that Project Success had a big hand in helping students who are affected by the digital divide get a laptop.

“A lot of families may not have access or extra funds to a laptop, and so, it’s providing that for their school work. We partnered with Project Success to identify those families because they work with them every day after school in all of the schools here in District 118 and throughout the county,” Lazzell said.

The laptops have a two year warranty. The students who received a laptop also got a lifetime membership to Microsoft, giving them access to Word, PowerPoint, and other platforms they will need for school.

The laptop distribution was a part of AT&T Illinois’ “Back to School Connectivity Month.” AT&T said that data from the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that millions of people in the nation still don’t have access to necessary devices — it’s an issue known as the digital divide.

Since 2021, AT&T has distributed more than 5,000 computers and devices to students and their families across Illinois