Bachman Lake Together Wins EY Shark Tank to Bridge the Digital Divide

Last week, Bachman Lake Together took both first place and the People’s Choice Award in the annual Ernst & Young (EY) “Shark Tank” event for nonprofits focused on closing the digital divide. We are honored to have been selected and excited to put $32,500 in prize money to work for Bachman Lake families! 

Whether it is registering your child for PreK, helping your little ones with homework or finding community resources, we know that access to technology and information is essential for children to thrive in school and beyond. But in Bachman Lake, about 37% of households only have access to a smartphone or tablet as their main technology device or have no computer at home at all.  

Our pitch at the “Shark Tank”-themed competition proposed creating greater access to technology in Bachman Lake for both children and their parents through a Learning Lab in partnership with the Dallas Innovation Alliance. To accomplish our goal of preparing Bachman Lake children for kindergarten, we know both generations must cross that digital divide to have access and tech literacy. 

Thanks to the support of EY and the sponsorship of EY’s Latinx Professional Network, we can bring that vision to life at the Bachman Lake Together Family Center. Starting in the fall, we will work directly with families and the community to expand our current initiatives through increased access to technology and co-design monthly workshops focused on tech literacy and education that will be open to the community. 

The ‘Shark Tank’ event was created as part of EY’s Bridging the digital divide initiative, launched in July 2020 against the backdrop of the pandemic. We are grateful to EY for their commitment to underserved populations by joining forces with other organizations to provide devices, internet service and mentoring.