More internet access coming to this Fresno area with ‘the highest concentration of potential’

About 200 children celebrated a new investment in their West Fresno community Thursday morning.

“When I say west, you say Fresno,” Pastor David J. “DJ” Criner of Saint Rest Baptist Church instructed the kids. “West!”

“Fresno,” the kids assembled in the church’s playground screamed back, as they shook yellow and green pom poms.

The kids were cheering in response to an announcement that Comcast would be creating a new Wi-Fi access area — known as a Lift Zone — at the church. Through this Lift Zone and 15 others across the county, Comcast aims to help connect communities to the internet so they can participate in online education opportunities and the digital economy, according to the company.

It was just one of several investments Comcast announced Thursday morning. The company also donated $25,000 to Saint Rest for a new computer lab and surprised each child in attendance with a free laptop. It also made a $200,000 investment in Bitwise Industries’ paid technology apprenticeships, supporting the nonprofit’s mission to empower, train and inspire people to join the technology workforce.

By partnering with and investing in community-based organizations, Comcast aims to earn the trust of community members and bridge the digital divide, said Broderick Johnson, Comcast’s executive vice president for public policy and digital equity.

“One of the biggest barriers to getting people on broadband… has to do with the lack of trust in institutions, governments and companies,” Johnson said. “There is no guarantee that (the digital divide) will be closed unless we have people reaching out that the community trusts.”

These new investments are a continuation of Comcast’s efforts to connect more Fresno County communities to the internet. About a quarter of all households in the county did not have internet access as of Dec. 2019, weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic increased people’s reliance on it.

Earlier this year, Comcast invested $1 million in the rural community of Biola and opened a Lift Zone at the Biola Community Services District. That investment also included a $100,000 donation to local community organizations, including Fresno State Parent University and Reading & Beyond, to provide digital literacy training to Biola community members.

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Comcast invests in Fresno community

Saint Rest Baptist Church is located southwest of downtown Fresno. Over 60% of residents around it live below the poverty line, according to U.S. Census data. The surrounding neighborhood is 71% Latino, creating a majority Black and brown congregation, said Charleston Adams, a youth pastor at Saint Rest.

Fresno Councilmember Miguel Arias represents District 3, the southwestern quarter of the city. He said a few years ago that the 93706 ZIP code — where Saint Rest is located — was only talked about nationally because it had the highest concentration of poverty.

“Those of us in Fresno knew that it also had the highest concentration of potential,” Arias added.

Adams, the youth pastor, said the technology investments thrilled the students — and will help them reach that potential.

“Some of them,” he said, “if it wasn’t for today, never would have had access to their own personal laptop.”

After announcing the donations at Saint Rest, Johnson traveled to Bitwise Industries.

“This is the third time I get to do something that feels like Santa Claus,” Johnson said to a group of Bitwise apprentices who are learning tech skills for jobs in e-commerce, online marketing and website development.

He was seconds away from announcing the surprise $200,000 donation to the apprenticeship program. The funds are part of Comcast’s continuing partnership with the Fresno-based nonprofit.

Over 10,000 people have trained at Bitwise and 80% found “gainful” technical employment, a spokesperson for the nonprofit said.

A survey showed their average trainee is a 26-year-old Latina with a high school diploma, who previously worked in the fields, factories, restaurants or retail businesses. The survey also calculated that 41% of trainees identified as LGBTQ+ and nearly half were either first-generation Americans or undocumented.

Amelia Guadarrama, a current apprentice and Fresno native, was surprised by the new investment, just like the other students in the room. She was a bridal seamstress before deciding she needed a career change.

“There is just going to be so much more opportunity out there for people who felt that, maybe, there was no place for them,” Guadarrama said. “When I heard that, that’s just more people who are going to be able to change their lives and see themselves in those (technology) spaces.”