ServiceNow : Closing the digital divide in our own backyard

Students throughout the U.S. faced massive technology and connectivity gaps before the pandemic. Now, with COVID-induced remote learning, the situation is more urgent than ever. Many students cannot afford internet connectivity. Many don't have personal laptops or tablets. And school districts are struggling to obtain the resources needed to support students who are now dependent on distance learning.  

 While the pandemic has presented tremendous challenges, it has also become a catalyst to find new ways, large and small, to bridge the digital divide. 

 As a global enterprise, ServiceNow believes in making the world of work, work better for all of us - students included. That's why we partnered with the City of San José, CA, located near our headquarters, to help address the digital divide.  

 Despite being the largest city in Silicon Valley, many San José residents are excluded from the opportunities offered by the technologies developed in their own backyard. At the start of the pandemic, more than 67,000 students in San José didn't have access to connectivity or devices. We're proud to share that we have played a part in helping the City of San José reduce that number to approximately13,000 students in need. 

 'As cities nationally grapple with a digital divide laid bare by this pandemic, we applaud ServiceNow's creative partnership with Revivn that enables far more of our students to learn with high-quality computers than the traditional model of refurbishing used devices that children may or may not be able to actually use in class,' said Sam Liccardo, Mayor of San José . 'Thank you to ServiceNow for stepping up to this more innovative approach to bridging our digital divide in San José and all of Silicon Valley.' 

Closing the Digital Divide 

The City of San José  was the first city in the U.S. to pledge to close the digital divide by establishing the Digital Inclusion Partnership, a $24 million cross-sector fund with the goals of ensuring every single resident has a working device, enhancing digital literacy skills, and providing internet connectivity to every resident. In addition to providing devices to students, the City of San  José also works closely with each student's family to ensure digital literacy training for parents through community-based organization grantees. 

 The Digital Inclusion Partnership is the City of San  José's largest philanthropic effort in recent history. For its part the Silicon Valley Leadership Group (SVLG), in collaboration with Ernst & Young LLP (EY) and the CA Emerging Tech Fund (CETF), recently kicked off a Digital Divide Drive for the 2020/21 academic year asking its members, including ServiceNow, to help close the gap for students without access to computing devices.