PORTLAND, Maine — The Maine Connectivity Authority announced it would be receiving more than $12 million in grants to support 12 community organizations across the state that work to "close the digital divide."
The grants are part of the Maine Connectivity Authority's Connectivity Hubs Program.
The program assists community pillars like libraries, community centers, municipal and tribal buildings, and affordable housing developments, to provide workforce training, education, and telehealth services, in areas without access to high-speed internet, according to a Friday news release from the Maine Connectivity Authority.
The Connectivity Hubs Program is funded through the ARPA Capital Projects Funds from the U.S. Department of Treasury.
“Ensuring Americans have access to reliable, high-speed internet is crucial to helping families succeed in the 21st-century economy,” U.S. Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in the release. “This investment is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic investments to unlock economic opportunities for everyone and to ensure families have access to critical work, education, and health care services.”
Connectivity Hub investments are part of MCA’s strategy to ensure all Maine people have access to and can use information and communications technologies so they can fully realize the civic, economic, health, educational, social, and other benefits that they provide, the release stated.
“There’s no single solution that will make fast, reliable internet available to everyone in Maine who wants it,” Andrew Butcher, president of the Maine Connectivity Authority, said. “But we know that the digital divide has the biggest negative impact on people living in rural communities, older Mainers, veterans, people with disabilities, and other marginalized populations."
The 12 organizations receiving grant awards:
- Aroostook Agency on Aging, Presque Isle, $400,989
- Bridgton Public Library, $250,000
- Caribou Public Library, $1,874,528
- Franklin County Adult and Community Education, Farmington, $1,773,574
- Hope Association, Rumford $279,112
- Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, Houlton, $1,247,639
- Mano en Mano, Milbridge, $1,784,497
- Passamaquoddy Tribe at Motahkomikuk, $545,612
- Seniors Plus, Lewiston, $900,000
- St. George Municipal School Unit, Tenants Harbor, $684,715
- Town of Stonington, Stonington, $1,753,420
- YWCA Central Maine, Lewiston, $651,928
To read the full press release, including details about each project, click here.
