A Digital Lifeline, and Salvation via Bees: Two Great Stories from the LISC + Truist Partnership
LISC and Truist Cares have partnered to ramp up broadband and technology access, especially in rural America, and support small businesses. A $5 million grant from Truist is helping LISC address the evolving needs of entrepreneurs, nonprofit organizations and families impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting recession. Read on for two remarkable stories of how that assistance is truly saving lives, and livelihoods.
The excerpts below were originally published:
Saving lives in a digital divide
Sweet relief: A small-business owner gets back on her feet.
By Truist
Saving lives in a digital divide
As rural U.S. towns continue to struggle with basic connectivity, our community partner LISC is boosting signals for first responders and families in their communities.
Imagine you’re a volunteer first responder, tasked with answering a late-night call for help. Far from the nearest hospital, your GPS goes in and out as you careen through the backcountry roads. You approach the scene and your signal drops. You’re now alone in the dark.
For many first responders in rural communities, this scenario is just part of the job. Too many communities still lack access to mobile broadband, and in the case of an emergency, it can be a matter of life or death.
A 2019 study estimated that 42 million† Americans opens in a new tab still do not have access to broadband. With help from a $2 million Truist Cares* grant, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) opens in a new tab is bringing connectivity to these communities, which are some of the hardest-hit by COVID-19.
“When the pandemic shifted many interactions online, the connectivity gap that so many communities face became more challenging than ever,”saidAlex Brame, Central Pennsylvania regional president at Truist. “As part of our larger response to COVID-19 relief needs through the Truist Cares* initiative, this $2 million grant to LISC has advanced their efforts to bridge the digital divide in underconnected communities like Northern Cambria through technical assistance, broadband connectivity, and technology grants.”
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Sweet relief: A small-business owner gets back on her feet.
As small businesses suffer the economic impact of COVID-19, Truist and community partner LISC are working to bring resources to rural towns.
Culpeper, Virginia, resident beekeeper and small-business owner Felecia Chavez has had a difficult year. Her business lost 90% of its revenue. She couldn’t pay her employees. Her landlord raised her rent. And she contracted COVID-19.
For a woman who has dedicated her life to helping others, this time Chavez was the one struggling. But with the help of a Truist Cares* grant, her small business and others like it are getting the support they need.
Chavez spent over 30 years of her life heading into war zones for the American Red Cross, helping active-duty soldiers cope with the traumas of war.
“We provided a safe environment to come and talk,” says Chavez. “If there was a death in the family back home, or the birth of a child, we would help. Sometimes, a soldier would contact [their] spouse and say, ‘I’ve had it. I just can’t do this anymore.’ We made sure the soldiers got the help they needed.”