AT&T Ohio - OFIC Donor Spotlight
The AT&T Foundation Donates $20,000 to Benefit Students from OFIC’s 33 Member Campuses
Randy Marker, OFIC Board Chair; Sarah Briggs, Vice President of External Affairs - Ohio, AT&T; Bill Spiker, OFIC President
For the past 68 years, AT&T Ohio has collaborated with The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges (OFIC) to invest in their member campuses and students. Recent gifts help to ensure students attending its member campuses will have access to digital tools that will enhance their career preparation.
The AT&T Foundation is focused on combating the digital divide. The organization is making waves to help close the divide in Ohio in five different categories: access to the internet, adopting to the internet, affordability, digital literacy and devices.
A total of $5.4 million has been donated to OFIC throughout the decades, including a recent $20,000 gift that will go towards digital resources for OFIC students to help them become even more “career-ready.”
Vice President of External Affairs in Ohio for AT&T, Sarah Briggs and her team focus on public policy issues at the local government level, managing AT&T philanthropic opportunities and partnerships in Ohio. “It is our job to represent the company locally and develop partnerships promoting collaborations to help close the digital divide,” Briggs said.
The organization believes it is crucial for the current and future workforce to have a great understanding of how to use technology. Like many companies today, AT&T relies on digital resources to help their company thrive. With more than 170,000 employees worldwide and over 3,000 in Ohio, the AT&T Foundation wants future workers to hit the ground running right after college.
““We are always seeking partnerships with higher ed, and for us it is about the talent attraction and workforce development perspective.””
Briggs and her team believe it is important for companies to instill growth and learning objectives within their businesses. AT&T does this by including lots of engagement opportunities that correlate with the digital divide, for example, digital literacy classes within the community.
For the AT&T Foundation, partnering with organizations like OFIC helps to fulfill their desire to combat the digital divide from the college perspective.
“We are just really thrilled to be able to continue to provide funding to OFIC so they can provide it to students at their member campuses,” Briggs said.