Winder & Associates held the first of their six community engagement workshops on Saturday, June 24, at Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church, where they shared their program model that includes digital navigators, digital ambassadors and wraparound services to help people access affordable internet service and other essential resources. The event was moderated by Al Winder with a welcome by Rev. Dr. Wallace Hartsfield II and remarks by Gigi Owens with J.E. Dunn Construction. Speakers included Rev. Daniel Childs, who emphasized the importance of the faith community being involved in closing the digital divide; Ina Montgomery, who spoke about her organization, Urban TEC, which provides STEAM programming for K-12 students, and their ACP sign-up efforts, including a soon-to-be-launched call center and 800 number; and Viewizer Dixon, a tech entrepreneur who informed attendees about his TV service that pays people to watch it.
Attendees were able to engage with the speakers and provide information about the digital inclusion needs for their organization and digital inclusion resources offered by their church or organization.
The next event will be Saturday, July 22, at 10 a.m. at the Southeast Community Center, and the third event will be Saturday, August 26, at 10 a.m. at Friendship Baptist Church. For more information, contact Mike Hughes.