BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE FOR CASEY STUDENTS

The City of Casey has continued its long-standing commitment to supporting educational equity by donating a further 106 laptops to not-for-profit organisation ‘This is IT’. City of Casey CEO Glenn Patterson recently visited Hallam Secondary College, along with local MPs Belinda Wilson and Pauline Richards and school principals from Gleneagles, Hallam, Lyndhurst, Clyde, Cranbourne East, and Hampton Park secondary schools to celebrate the latest handover of laptops to the program.

The City of Casey has been a founding contributor to the ‘This is IT’ program for the past four years and have now shared over 300 laptops in total. The program collects end-of-life and end-of-lease laptops to repurpose them for students in need.

According to This is IT co-founder Andrew Simmons "10 to 15 per cent of students lack access to technology, putting them at a disadvantage compared to their peers when it comes to learning".

“The laptops provided by the City of Casey play a crucial role in bridging the digital divide among students.

“With financial stress being a significant barrier to secondary education, the partnership between the City of Casey and This is IT has proven to be instrumental in assisting students in need.

Mr Patterson applauded the initiative and the momentum this program has brought to the local community.

“The positive impact this initiative has on families and individuals is immeasurable and we are thrilled to see our community benefitting from it,” Mr Patterson said.

“I encourage other organisations in both the public and private sectors to donate to this essential cause.”