KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City will officially unveil a new “Lift Zone” at its center in Olathe, Kansas, Tuesday afternoon.
A lift zone is an area with free, high speed WiFi access provided by Comcast. The technology company provided enough bandwidth for 200 devices to connect to broadband internet at once in the Olathe Boys and Girls Club location. Club members and their parents can use the WiFi for free.
“Its an equalizer for our kids,” Dr. Dred Scott, president and CEO of Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater KC, said. “If we haven’t learned anything from the pandemic, we should have learned that connectivity is highly, highly valuable and important for our kids. We want to make sure all kids have equal access, equal opportunity to WiFi so they can connect up and remain engaged, particularly with their learning.”
Boys and Girls Clubs provide daycare for children ages five to 18 before and after school.
Some studies show as much as 15% of households in Johnson County, Kansas, don’t have access to high speed internet. The University of Kansas is currently surveying Kansans about internet accessibility for a larger research project on broadband priorities.
Comcast has pledged to match any donations to Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City between now until the end of May dollar for dollar, up to $25,000. To make a donation, visit the nonprofit’s website. All money raised through the effort will stay in the Kansas City metropolitan area.
