Cooperative Extension reports success of laptop-giveaway; seeks funding to expand digital-access program

Cooperative Extension staff told the board a pilot digital-access initiative provided roughly 80 Lenovo Chromebooks to Caswell County residents through a $25,000 grant from the Danville Regional Foundation and county and partner support.

Tyler, the program lead, said the project spent about $20,607 on laptops and the remainder on two-month subscriptions; he described distribution rules that require a government-issued ID or two pieces of mail to verify Caswell County residency and limit one computer per household. "The reception has been overwhelmingly positive," Tyler said, noting participants cited telehealth use, resume-building and small-business help as primary benefits.

Staff presented state-2021 data showing about 15.17% of county households lacked a computer; distributing 80 laptops reduces the countywide share by an estimated 6.26 percentage points among the households cited in the state data. Extension staff said they will report results back to the Danville Regional Foundation and hope to secure additional grant funding to expand the program, including more trainings on artificial intelligence and social-media marketing for small businesses.

Commissioners thanked Extension staff for their work and asked that program outcomes be shared at upcoming budget and retreat discussions if additional local support is considered.