The Trenton Times published the following article on June 5, 2013. To read the full article, click here.

Trenton Digital Initiative will provide at least 100 free computers and low-cost internet to city children

By Alex Zdan/The Times 
on June 05, 2013 at 7:15 AM, updated June 05, 2013 at 10:59 AM

TRENTON — A volunteer effort by the city, Trenton nonprofits and Comcast cable aims to have at least 100 city children set up with free computers and low-cost broadband Internet in their homes by the first day of school in September.

Mayor Tony Mack announced the start of the project, dubbed the Trenton Digital Initiative, during a City Hall news conference yesterday morning. Since the project is exclusively based on volunteer work, no city funds will be used, Mack said. The city and school district are acting as the facilitators. “That’s what happens when you work together,” Mack said. “Work to build a city, not trying to hurt one another.”

Children qualify for the program by being on reduced cost school lunch plans, Mack said.

The Mercer Street Friends and HomeFront nonprofits are collecting used computers, and professionals who volunteer their time will update the units before they are given away to needy families at no cost.

“There are a lot of technical people who want to come out and help,” said Glenn Paul, a Hopewell Township resident who serves as one of the volunteer coordinators.

While up to 90 percent of homes in places like Lawrence have Internet service, there are neighborhoods in Trenton where as few as 20 percent of homes have Internet, Comcast senior vice president David Breidinger said.

“Those without Internet access are always at a disadvantage,” he said.

All the infrastructure including fiber-optic cable is available in the inner city, Breidinger said, so the company is offering its Internet Essentials package along with the restored computers. Families with children on the reduced-cost lunch program are eligible for the $9.95 per month service, which they can continue receiving until the child graduates high school.

Breidinger said that 600,000 Comcast customers across the country benefit from the low-cost Internet, though all have to pay $149 for refurbished computers. Trenton is the first to give out the computers for free, he said.

The school system will be responsible for making sure students are eligible and spreading the word by distributing brochures, Mack said.

For more information, visit Trentonmakes.info or call the mayor’s office at (609) 989-3030. Those who wish to donate computers can do so at HomeFront, 1880 Princeton Avenue, Lawrence.

Contact Alex Zdan at azdan@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5705.