What is Digital Inclusion Week?
Digital Inclusion Week (DIW) is an annual week of awareness, recognition and celebration. With support from NDIA, organizations and individuals across the country host special events, run social media campaigns, and share their digital inclusion actions and progress with media, among other actions. 

We’re living in a pivotal time for digital inclusion action. More resources than ever are available now and will continue to be released to support digital inclusion work.

Check out this list of upcoming events that KC Digital Drive will be hosting, sponsored by GFiber, throughout the week of October 7-11, 2024. 

Oct 6th: Re.Use.Full Computer Repair Cafe

  • Time: 1-3pm
  • Location: KCPL Bluford Branch Library – 3050 Prospect Ave, Kansas City, MO
  • Visit the Repair Cafe co-hosted by Re.Use.Full and KC Digital Drive. Volunteers will be available to remove any viruses or malware, recover files, repair your keyboard and hardware, and perform other basic repairs. No replacing cracked screens at this event. Questions? Follow our website here, email hello @ reusefull dot org or call 816.612.1132

Oct 7th: PCs for People Pop-Up

  • Time: 10am-3pm
  • Location: Digital Services and Support Center @  LAMP Campus – 1801 Linwood Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64109
  • PCs for People holds a pop-up retail spot at the LAMP Campus every Monday and Friday from 10am-3pm, so come out and visit! You can talk with a PCs for People staff member about purchasing refurbished devices, such as computers, laptops, desktops, and internet hot spots. They also sell laptop accessories such as laptop bags, speakers, webcams, headsets, and monitors. For additional information, email kansascity @ pcsforpeople dot org or call 816-259-0851. 

Oct 7: Code for KC Hack Night

  • Time: 6-8pm
  • Location: virtually on Zoom
  • Code for KC is a group of civic-minded geeks who volunteer our talents to projects that improve how our local governments and community organizations use the web. We strive for principles of open data and technology advocacy for civic good and are supported by our host organization, KC Digital Drive. Code for KC is about action, so join us at a Hack Night where we’ll commit code to make a difference in our city! Hack nights begin with introductions, updates, and new project pitches before splitting into breakout sessions to work on projects like Re.Use.Full, Digital Inclusion Marketplace, and Clear My Record.
  • Register here for the Zoom link to join the meeting.

Oct 8th: Digital Inclusion Learning Circle

  • Time: 3-4pm
  • Location: Digital Services and Support Center @ LAMP Campus – 1801 Linwood Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64109
  • Join these monthly Learning Circle meetings to talk about your triumphs and challenges with your fellow digital inclusion trainers in the KC metro at this informal event. We’ll spend time getting to know one another and sharing about all the great work happening in the community. At each meeting we will hear a short presentation from one to two leaders in the digital inclusion ecosystem here in Kansas City. Then there will be time for discussion and collaboration. There is a hybrid option in case you need to join virtually, but participating in person is preferred. The DI Learning Circle meets monthly on the first Tuesday of the month at 3:00pm, and we are always looking for more organizations to join this space. For more information on how to join and to be added to the email listserv, email Leah Henriksen at lhenriksen @ kcdigitaldrive dot org. 

Oct 8th: Digital Skills Assistive Tech Train-the-Trainer

  • Time: 4-5pm
  • Location: Hybrid – Zoom and in-person at Digital Services and Support Center @ LAMP Campus – 1801 Linwood Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64109
  • If you are currently working or interested in learning how to work with people with disabilities and other impairments, this session is for you! Brenda Whitlock from Missouri Assistive Technology and Tammy Bruegger from Rockhurst Occupational Therapy and Assistive Technology Demo Site will be co-hosting this train-the-trainer session will be presenting about how you can tie assistive technology devices (think enlarged font keyboards, differently shaped mice, screen readers, etc.) can be implemented in your classes and with the clients you serve. This will be an interactive experience, so come with questions and an open mind for learning. For more information, contact Leah Henriksen at lhenriksen @ kcdigitaldrive dot org. 

Oct 9th – Launch of the Digital Inclusion Resource Library

  • Check out this new dedicated page for digital inclusion resources in the Kansas City metropolitan area, featuring info that agencies, non-profits, and community members need to know about digital services, skills classes, low cost devices, and ways to learn more. For more information or to add your information to the site, contact Leah Henriksen at lhenriksen @ kcdigitaldrive dot org. 

Oct 10th: Digital Inclusion Fund New Courses Grants – Office Hours

    • Time: 11am-noon
    • Location: Zoom (click here for the link) 
    • Are you an eligible entity, including 501(c)(3) public charities, educational or governmental entities interested in getting more involved in the digital skills courses? Have you wanted to start a new course, but didn’t know where to find the funding? Look no further than the 3rd cycle in the 2024 KC Digital Inclusion Fund: New Courses Grants cycle. This grant application is open from October 1 through November 15th, and KC Digital Drive is hosting Office Hours so organizations can pop in and learn more about this opportunity and come with ideas and questions. For more information, go to the website www.kcdif.org, or call 816-200-0599 or email kcdif @ kcdigitaldrive dot org.  

Oct 11th: Digital Divide Simulation – Virtual Info Session

    • Time: noon-1:00pm
    • Tune into this virtual session to explore the Digital Divide Simulation, hear how it works and how you might leverage it to promote awareness and understanding of issue of digital inclusion and equity. For more information, contact Leah Henriksen at lhenriksen @ kcdigitaldrive dot org. 
    • Register Now

Oct 12th Per Scholas Computer Repair / IT Support Community Event

    • Time: 10am-2pm
    • Location: Digital Services and Support Center @ LAMP Campus – 1801 Linwood Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64109 (1st floor inside the Linwood entrance)
    • KC Digital Drive will be hosting Per Scholas at our LAMP Campus at this Computer Repair Event! Per Scholas graduates will be offering free tech assistance to the community, including spyware removal, software support/user training, hardware troubleshooting, and other Windows and Mac iOS issues. Per Scholas is a program that trains students to provide IT support in a variety of tech fields. For more information, contact Leslie Scott at lscott @ kcdigitaldrive dot org.

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Further Reading

Digital Inclusion Fund Awards $75,000 for Devices in the Greater Kansas City Area

The Kansas City Digital Inclusion Fund announces the 2024 Devices Grants cycle list of grant awardees. The KC Digital Inclusion Fund supports 501(c)(3) entities that focus on digital inclusion access, affordability and adoption to increase participation in digital society for Kansas City’s most underserved and/or disconnected residents. Initial funding support is from the Health Forward Foundation, Kauffman Foundation, Kansas Health Foundation and GFiber (Google Fiber).

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New ACC AmeriCorps Member Joins Team

Welcome, Gus Livers! He joins KC Digital Drive as an American Connection Corps (ACC) AmeriCorps member, serving in the 2024-2025 service year, thanks to the generous financial support from Comcast. Gus will serve as the Digital Inclusion Coordinator, and with his previous experience in internet services and streaming from Marksman Solutions, and event management at […]

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Beyond Digital Literacy: Middle Skills Training at the KC Coalition for Digital Inclusion

Digital inclusion has its many ways of bridging gaps in industry, skill acquisition, and opportunity. But when it comes to digital skills training, there are a lot of beginner level programs in the Kansas City metro area, but less known is the middle skills development opportunities. The purpose of this gathering was to highlight some of the nonprofits in this space helping to close the gap on middle skills and workforce development for digital careers. 

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