Spectrum Awards Grant to Whitmore Economic Development Group

Spectrum announced Whitmore Economic Development Group (WEDG) has received a $18,000 Spectrum Digital Education grant in support of their digital literacy and workforce development programs. The grant is part of the broadband connectivity provider’s six-year, $8 million commitment to promote digital education and broadband technology in communities across the country.

WEDG, a nonprofit organization based in Wahiawa, provide resources for sustainable and diverse agricultural business communities. WEDG focuses on sustainable community and socio-economic development through agriculture and agribusiness with endeavors that concentrate on understanding, building, and providing social infrastructure to support agricultural workforce development, employment, and socio-economic strength and success.

Project HIKI (Holomua I Ka Ikaika) will develop a computer education training center to be utilized by the farming community members and create workforce development program for the Whitmore Village community.

The $18,000 grant is the second Spectrum Digital Education grant for Whitmore Economic Development Group, bringing total Spectrum support for the organization to $39,000 over the past four years.

“In our online world, digital skills are critical to navigating everything from finding a job, doing school work – yet too many families still have not adopted internet at home,” said Rahman Kahn, Vice President of Community Impact for Charter Communications, Inc., which operates the Spectrum brand of Internet, Mobile, TV and Voice services. “As one of the largest internet providers in the U.S., Spectrum is committed to supporting local initiatives like Whitmore Economic Development Group that promote digital literacy and inclusion and help educate to community members in Honolulu about the value of adopting broadband in their lives so they can succeed in today’s connected society.”

Spectrum presented the $18,000 grant to the organization on Oct. 27 at the Pineapple Crate workspace in Wahiawa. Senator Donovan M. Dela Cruz and Spectrum executives participated in the celebration.

"The Spectrum Digital Education grant is a blessing that will allow WEDG to establish its first computer training center in the Pineapple Crate facility located in Central Oahu at Whitmore Village, Wahiawa,” said Lilette Subedi, Whitmore Economic Development Group, Director of Resource Development. “The Spectrum Computer Training Center is a significant component of WEDG's Workforce and Economic Development Program that will support training for highly skilled agricultural workers and laborers. It will also support WEDG's new initiative, Project HIKI that will provide Early Childhood Education certification and Certified Nurse Aide training and more. WEDG believes that building a strong foundation of "Social Infrastructure" is essential to sustaining community socio-economic development and growth into Hawaii's future."

Whitmore Economic Development Group is one of 47 nonprofit organizations that Spectrum is supporting through its 2022 Spectrum Digital Education grant program. In all, the company will invest $1.1 million this year to support digital literacy in underserved rural and urban communities within Spectrum’s 41-state service area, including Hawaii. Spectrum launched the program in 2017, recognizing that education and digital literacy are as important as affordability relative to a household’s lack of broadband services. Excluding this year’s awards, Charter has funded 99 nonprofit organizations and more than 95,000 people in 22 states and Washington, D.C. through Spectrum Digital Education.

More information about Spectrum Digital Education and Charter’s philanthropic initiatives to support communities is available here.