LEP takes pride in the fact that throughout our history we have continually adapted and improved our model—we have an iterative approach to everything we do. Our guiding principle is to optimize for economic impact; that is, we try to make the biggest difference while making donations go the longest way.

Today we are beginning to partner with the Raspberry Pi Foundation (RPF), which will give students at our libraries access to a child-friendly, offline version of Wikipedia, as well as opportunities to learn the skill of digital coding.

RPF’s eponymous product is a pocket-sized single-board computer. The ‘Raspberry Pi’ connects to nearly any monitor and includes a mouse and keyboard. For an additional $1,000 we can equip an LEP library with four Raspberry Pi’s, bringing our total cost per library to $4,755.

Very few students we work with have access to the internet, the cost of which is prohibitively high.  This means they can only research and pursue areas of study on which there is literature in the library.  And while nothing outweighs the academic benefit and experience of physical books, access to Wikipedia means now our students can learn about virtually anything.

Beyond accessing Wikipedia and other similar digital learning resources, students will also be able to learn how to code. RPF and their sister organization CoderDojo have developed a volunteer-led community that provides free programming workshops to young people around the world. Their model is simple and easy to employ. With guidance from the RPF and CoderDojo teams, and the requisite funds to support this project, we would like to begin integrating their programs into our libraries in 2021.

For our students, the potential long-term benefits of this initiative are immense. In the U.S. alone it is estimated that there will be a shortage of more than 1 million software developers by the end of 2021, and professionals in the industry will be in high demand. By giving students the opportunity to learn digital languages such as Python and Scratch, we could create a very real way for them to pursue careers in the universal and ubiquitous industry that is tech.

Your donation today will go directly towards outfitting our libraries with new technology we are thoroughly optimistic about—if you’re able to, please help connect our students to a world that is currently out of their reach.