From Connected Learning Centers, Financial Literacy and Expanded Youth IT Training, Organizations Step Up for Digital Empowerment
Dec 19, 2025 – The December 2025 Kansas City Coalition for Digital Inclusion meeting highlighted transformative partnerships bringing technology access, digital skills training, and workforce development to underserved communities across the Kansas City metro. The session featured presentations from AT&T, Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City, Kechia Smith with ArtsTech, Marilyn Chappell with Exceeds Expectations Inc., and updates from the Kansas Office of Broadband Development.
Kansas City Coalition for Digital Inclusion – December 2025 Recap:
Featured Content: AT&T Connected Learning Center at Boys & Girls Clubs
The meeting opened with exciting news from Madeline Romious (Regional Vice President External Affairs at AT&T) and Jason Ross (CEO, Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City): the launch of AT&T’s Connected Learning Center at the Thornberry Club. Kansas City was selected as one of only 25 locations nationwide to receive this designation in 2025, making it the third center in Missouri after two St. Louis locations. The competitive selection process reflects the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City’s exceptional reputation and impact on youth development.
Here are the benefits to being a Connected Learning Center:
- AT&T fiber connectivity (3-year commitment)
- 16 Dell Optiplex all-in-one computers
- $50,000+ in charitable contributions over three years
- Free access to AT&T Achievery – a digital literacy platform with age-specific programming covering digital learning, digital parenting, and digital safety
- Employee volunteerism – AT&T staff available to support programming and events
Why Thornberry Club?
The Thornberry Club at 43rd and Cleveland serves as the Boys and Girls Clubs’ flagship location, operating since the 1960s. The club already had nearly 100 kids in attendance on the morning of the coalition meeting, demonstrating the scale of impact this partnership can achieve. During the school year, the club serves approximately 800 youth, with numbers nearly doubling during summer programming.
“This has been a great lift for us,” said Jason Ross. “These are the kids we serve each and every day. This is the reality of where our clubs are – most of our kids have a device but they don’t necessarily have the connectivity, they don’t have the understanding of what is behind that device.”
The partnership launched with a community laptop giveaway event that set a new standard. The celebration was so successful – complete with horses – that other AT&T Connected Learning Center cities are now trying to replicate the Kansas City model.
AT&T emphasized that their digital literacy resources through the AT&T Achievery are free and available to everyone, not just Connected Learning Center partners. Organizations interested in accessing these resources for their programming can contact Madeline at AT&T for more information.
Member Spotlight: ArtsTech’s Comprehensive Youth Development Model
Kechia Smith, Executive Director of ArtsTech, shared updates on their 32,000-square-foot facility serving youth ages 12–24 (and as young as 8 for some programs). ArtsTech has undergone major renovations over the past year and offers a unique combination of arts, technology, and workforce development.
ArtsTech operates an innovative IT training program where young people earn $15/hour working 15–20 hours per week while learning real-world skills:
- Device restoration and repair – Youth learn to restore laptops and tablets, with 2–3 devices sold or distributed weekly
- Help desk operations – Young people answer technical support calls with mentor coaching
- Professional skills – Email communication, customer service, facility maintenance
- Workforce preparation – Every youth who comes through receives a laptop for both professional and personal use
For a great success story – this past summer, a group of 8 young men worked hard this summer and completely rewired the ArtsTech building, installing Wi-Fi hubs throughout the facility, and setting up security camera systems. They were able to create a cleaner, more efficient network infrastructure, and learned professional networking and cabling skills.
ArtsTech has built sustainable partnerships across the digital inclusion ecosystem:
- PCs for People – Youth training in device restoration; employment pipeline (recently requested referrals for warehouse positions)
- Health Forward – Funding support enabling distribution of 50–75 laptops/tablets annually
- H&R Block – Long-standing partnership providing devices for training
- Operation Pathways – Launching first computer lab partnership serving both seniors and kids
ArtsTech serves a unique population: youth experiencing housing instability, those between school placements, and young people navigating the difficult transition from adolescence to adulthood. New initiatives include:
- Laundry access service for youth experiencing housing challenges
- Cold weather day site launching soon
- Event space (7,000 sq ft) available for community use
- Stop-motion animation programming (100+ kids participated at recent Breakfast with Santa, not wanting to leave)
“We get those young people that are in between school trying to figure out who they are, could be unhoused, housing instability,” Kechia explained. “We offer a safe space for them.”
ArtsTech can bring their programming on wheels, offering 3-D printing, stop-motion animation, sewing, ceramics, and other art-tech fusion activities to partner organizations. Organizations interested in collaborations can reach out to Kechia directly.
Featured Content: Exceeds Expectations Inc.
Marilyn Chappell, founder and CEO of Exceeds Expectations Inc., shared powerful success stories from their 4-week Digital Financial Literacy Program conducted at KC Digital Drive’s campus.
Program Results:
- 39 graduates out of 45 participants
- All graduates received digital devices upon completion
- Participants learned to use digital tools for budgeting, credit management, and financial planning
Success Stories That Transform Lives
Story 1: The Power of $90
One participant who couldn’t save money and didn’t know where it was going sent Marilyn an email the month after completing the program: she had saved $90. While that might sound small, for a single mother on limited income, it represented a breakthrough. She also started driving for Uber to generate additional income – exactly the kind of proactive thinking the program aims to inspire.
Story 2: From Giving Up to Moving Forward
A veteran participant initially shared that he had given up on paying his bills. By the end of the four weeks, he announced he had started paying his bills again and was planning to write a book and purchase his own home.
Story 3: Hope After Incarceration
A gentleman who had recently been released from prison seemed disengaged during the second week. By the fourth session, he shared: “Now I feel like I am hopeful,” and he plans on filling out the GreatjobsKC application now.
“That’s what it’s all about,” Marilyn reflected. “Not just giving them the digital tools and showing them how to create a budget with the money they have… but if you could just connect them to resources that they did not know that was readily available for them here in Kansas City.”
Exceeds Expectations also partnered with Jewish Family Services on their Financial Empowerment for Families program, graduating multiple cohorts with device distribution upon completion.
Announcement: Kansas Office of Broadband Development
Morgan from the Kansas Office of Broadband Development shared that Kansas’ Final Proposal was approved in December 2025 for $166.6 million in BEAD funding. The approval enables Kansas to begin connecting 26,673 eligible households and businesses. Fourteen organizations were selected, with $61.3 million in private matching contributions.
According to Morgan, the Kansas Office of Broadband Development is currently administering 8 state and federal programs with 234 active projects under verification and monitoring. Digital opportunity programs awarded in 2025 included ADOPT Round 1 ($3.9M) and Digital Equity funding ($8.2M), and ADOPT Round 2 made an additional $10.7 million available in 2025. The office continues administering multiple infrastructure programs across the state.
Morgan emphasized that Kansas OBD administers programs that support not just rural areas but urban Kansas City as well, with some urban areas actually having better fiber infrastructure than certain rural communities depending on provider investment.
The office is currently awaiting federal guidance on non-deployment funds – the remaining BEAD allocation that wasn’t spent on the infrastructure buildout. There is hope that recent legislation will allow states to keep these funds for other digital equity initiatives rather than having them clawed back to the federal government.
Community Announcements
- STEM Connect KC Annual Summit – Marcus Brown announced the STEM Connect KC Advisory Board is hosting their annual summit on March 4th with the theme “Everyone Counts” – focusing on math in STEM education. The event will include screening the documentary “Counted Out” and is open to the public.
- Great Jobs KC – They are partnering with Goodwill to provide digital literacy training for people in their program that don’t pass the proficient levels for digital literacy.
- Digital Life Exchange Reporting – Aaron Deacon, Executive Director of KC Digital Drive shared that the Digital Life Exchange is working on quarterly ecosystem-wide reporting to capture the collective impact of its 48+ member organizations serving approximately 100,000 people annually.
- ArtsTech Breakfast with Santa Success – ArtsTech’s annual Breakfast with Santa drew 368 attendees with programming throughout their 32,000-square-foot facility, including a popular stop-motion animation station where kids didn’t want to leave.
- Computer Lab Available – KC Digital Drive’s computer lab is available for community organizations to use for classes and programming. Organizations interested in scheduling time should contact KC Digital Drive directly.
Want to get involved?
Visit digitalinclusionkc.org to learn more, sign up for updates, or watch past meetings. Membership is free – just complete a short form at digitalinclusionkc.org/join.