Elevate Digital Navigator Program via LISC Rural
We at Elevate CCIC, Inc. make it our mission to encourage
entrepreneurs across East Central Illinois. Entrepreneurs see the value of new
ideas. Every day, they wake up with abstract ideas in their brain, and then
spend their waking hours making that idea a reality. We here at Elevate work
towards encouraging, connecting, and growing that mindset.
Elevate recently completed a eight-month program with the LISC Rural Digital Navigator Midwest
region. This partnership placed Elevate among colleagues in five (5) states in the Midwest: Indiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, and
Ohio. As a Digital Navigator, Elevate was charged
with providing individualized or small group assistance to community members
who needed affordable home internet service, affordable internet-capable devices,
and/ or coaching in digital literacy skills. Each client Elevate has equipped with modern technology can now develop their own creative visioning process.
While this first eight-month phase of the Digital Navigator program is now complete, Elevate will build on its successes to grow the program into a sustainable, ongoing effort to support the community more widely. We are committed to this program because we know that, before anyone can start their own business,
they need the right tools. Elevate provides equitable access to digital skills and tools in
the home or office to learn what it takes to start a business. This outcome is
defined in our Avenues of Progress in the Resources row and the Grow column.
The Greater Mattoon area has a population of about 20,000 people, with an average median household income of roughly $40,000. Unfortunately, about 20% of families in this area live in poverty. However, our community has prioritized broadband and high-speed internet access in rural areas, and Elevate has risen to the challenge. We launched a partnership with Mattoon Community Unit School District 2, the City of Mattoon, the Mattoon Chamber of Commerce, the Mattoon Public Library, and Coles Together, resulting in the Mattoon Broadband Coalition, which soon became a member of the Illinois Connected Communities Cohort.
Below is a map of internet subscription rates for the City of Mattoon. Lack of internet access goes hand-in-hand with many other economic disadvantages characteristic of low-income households in any community, and Mattoon is no exception. What makes Mattoon exceptional is the community-wide alliance that has formed to confront them.
We are proud to say that from August 2019 to January 2022, our community has taken great strides to make Access, Adoption, and Utilization part of our strategic goals. We have established a Broadband Committee in the Mattoon in Motion organization to take the reins of this initiative. Taken as a whole, these collaborations and partnerships represent a concerted effort to bring about change for the betterment of the community.
Elevate has supported our community with the help of the LISC Rural Digital Navigator program and will continue to serve as a Digital Navigator for years to come. We have also partnered with PC’s for People, a non-profit that provides refurbished laptops, desktops, and affordable internet service to citizens with annual net income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level. We have identified citizens and aspiring start-up entrepreneurs and small businesses to help them bridge the digital divide.
Our first recipient was Mattoon’s LaJewel Harbin, who moved
to Coles County from Chicago almost five years ago. She has never owned a computer
before, but the Digital Navigator program has now made it possible for LaJewel
to manage her in-home hair salon with the help of digital recordkeeping and
budgeting software. We are excited to help LaJewel grow her business with new
technology and the know-how to use it well.
As a community, we are committed to creating an equitable
environment focused on digital inclusion and creating equitable access to the
tools necessary in today’s world. We are always looking for new community
leaders to participate in our ongoing effort of building digital equity in our
region.
Thank you,
Carlos Ortega Director, Elevate CCIC, Inc. director@elevate217.org