Courtesy of Fort Worth Housing Solutions
Former Cavile Place residents received Chromebooks from Urban Strategies, Inc., thanks to a $45,000 grant from Facebook’s Fort Worth Data Center.
Christmas came early for a few former residents of Cavile Place, who received Chromebooks this week thanks to a $45,000 grant from Facebook’s North Fort Worth Data Center, given to the Fort Worth chapter of Urban Strategies, Inc. (USI Fort Worth).
USI Fort Worth distributed 175 Chromebooks at the Stallion Pointe Apartments, LVT Rise, FWISD Family Action Center, and Handley Meadowbrook Community Center. The organization will also deliver computers to the homes of residents who could not visit one of the four locations.
According to Fort Worth Housing Solutions, the initiative will impact nearly 600 individuals, giving them access to services like online tutoring, academic support, job training, and health care through telehealth.
“This is a nice resource because I recently enrolled in an EKG class that Urban Strategies is offering for residents, and they’re letting us do it online,” Kiandra Kelly, who received a computer for her family at Handley Meadowbrook, said in a statement. “These Chromebooks are very expensive, and the way things are going now with COVID and not being able to go to certain places, I can find a job on the computer once I finish my classes.”
Since opening in 2017, Facebook's Fort Worth Data Center has been awarding Community Action Grants to Tarrant County projects that "meet community needs by putting technology to use for community benefit, connecting people, or improving local STEM education," according to a news release. USI, which is based in St. Louis, is leading the People portion of the Stop Six Choice Neighborhood Initiative, responsible for ensuring that former Cavile Place residents are supported while the public housing community undergoes redevelopment.
“We are extremely excited to collaborate with Facebook’s Fort Worth Data Center to support our former Cavile Place residents,” Simeon Henderson, senior project manager of USI Fort Worth, said in a statement. “This generous contribution will have an immediate positive impact on our families. Our collective goal is to empower families through digital literacy and other technology-based opportunities.”
More information about the Stop Six Choice Neighborhood Initiative is available here.