INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Hundreds of Indiana students got their hands on free laptops as part of WNBA All-Star weekend festivities.

AT&T, along with the WNBA and Human-I-T, distributed 220 refurbished laptops to middle and high school students attending the Indiana Black Expo’s Youth Leadership Summit. 

Human-I-T spokesperson Angelique Cruz said some of the students did not have digital devices in their home, even though they may have homework requiring online submissions. Others were excited about having basic, personal access to the internet. 

“Another student said that she loved fashion,” Cruz said. “So, she was really excited about going on Pinterest and creating boards.”

More than five million households lack any type of computing device (computer, smartphone, tablet, or otherwise), according to US Census data. AT&T is in the midst of a $5 billion campaign to connect 25 million people to high-speed internet by 2030, to help bridge the “digital divide.”

Cruz said, since the laptops are refurbished from large corporations, the event is helping bridge the digital divide while battling e-waste. 

“They might have laptops or old desktops laying around, but they’re perfectly good to be used,” Cruz said. “And we go through a really sophisticated process to wipe them all for data security, and then we take those and give them back to communities that are in need.” 

Dallas Wings guard DiJonai Carrington also met with students during the event inside the Grand Ballroom of The Westin Indianapolis. 

AT&T said it’s distributed more than 1,450 devices to Indiana students and families since 2021.

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