First Tech Fund: Immigrant-founded nonprofit provides laptops, tech to students in need

First Tech Fund is a new nonprofit dedicated to closing the digital divide among underserved high school students in New York City. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the burgeoning digital divide among students of different economic backgrounds. In New York City, 14 percent of students didn't have a computer or computing device, and 13 percent didn't have adequate internet access, according to ​​the New York Civil Liberties Union and New York State Education (NYSE) Department. The NYSE report showed how students in Black and Latino school districts suffered disproportionately during the pandemic: Compared with students in largely white districts, they were about four times as likely to lack internet access and three times as likely to lack a device that allowed them to complete schoolwork. It's a situation First Tech Fund co-founder Josue De Paz knew well, and when the pandemic forced kids out of school and back into their homes, it was a need he was determined to help solve. The organization offers high school students a year-long fellowship in which they are supplied with a laptop and a Wi-Fi hotspot, with unlimited internet access. They're also paired with a mentor and are given weekly virtual workshops on digital skills, career growth and other professional development opportunities.