North Carolina SEC Bridges Digital Divide

BURNSVILLE, N.C. – State Employees CU said yesterday its SECU Foundation has contributed $170,000 to help build a computer lab with high-speed Internet access for this impoverished rural community. The SECU Information Gateway will serve residents who cannot afford a home computer or high-speed Internet access and will also provide a resource center for people who have lost their jobs in the hard-hit manufacturing facilities in the area. There will be about 40 personal computers in the center. The SECU funding will help in the renovation of a 1920's historic building that will house the Yancey County Library. Yancey County has lost 800 manufacturing jobs in recent years, pushing the unemployment rate up to 12%. SECU said it is looking at the project as a possible pilot for similar initiatives around the state.