Impact Starts with Community at the Core

It's back-to-school season in the US, and the African proverb "It takes a village," is ever-present. At Meet the Teacher, our principle spent the evening emphasizing the importance of the parent / teacher / school village. Then, at Little League practice, the coaches stressed the partnership it takes for children to succeed on the field.

In our interconnected, fast-moving world, community is critical to every aspect of our daily lives. That's why at Dell, our impact work leans in heavily on strengthening communities we call home - applying our technology, skills and innovation to community organizations that are essential to our progress. These are schools, non-profits, community centers, libraries, clinics - the trusted spaces and leaders in our lives.

Every community is different with unique needs, challenges and cultural elements to understand. So the first step in our impact work is always to listen, understand and meet the community where they are. For a community in remote Brazil, we may meet them with a solar-powered community hub that can support a need for access to clean water, education and healthcare. For a community in Texas, we may support with a Community AI Workshop to brush up on AI and workforce development skills.

As a U.S. based company, we are invested in our communities across the country at the local, state and national level, and we are bringing our community-centered impact approach to life.

Strengthening US community organizations

Last month, we launched AI Innovation Hubs at Hopeworks, a nonprofit social enterprise, dedicated to empowering young adults to establish living wage careers. The Hubs, located in Philadelphia and Camden, include an in-kind donation of a Dell AI Factory along with custom AI digital assistants that use natural language processing to conduct mock interviews and help teams make decisions and complete tasks more efficiently. The goal ultimately is to lower the barrier to AI in two key ways: by building technology that makes AI more accessible, and by investing in programs that build AI skills.

Over the summer we partnered in the launch of an AT&T Connected Learning Center at Texas Native Health in Dallas. The Center is the 14^th in Texas and is one of more than 50 across the national program that provides free resources, devices, tutoring and mentorship that support the community.

This year, Dell is partnering with the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) to support a working group of community practitioners who are early adopters of AI, both as users and as leaders integrating AI into digital skills programming. Through peer-to-peer conversations facilitated by NDIA, the group shared insights to accelerate learning and innovation, with the goal of making these findings publicly available. By listening to these community voices, we can ensure our strategies are grounded in real needs, fostering opportunity and preventing the digital divide from widening.

Strengthening US schools

In June, we signed the White House's Pledge to American Youth: Investing in AI Education to help make AI education accessible to K-12 students across the country. And last week, we joined the White House AI Education Task Force and other industry leaders to discuss ways the U.S. government and industry can better partner to prepare the American workforce for a future shaped by AI. We're excited to partner with policymakers and our peers to empower the next generation to thrive in an AI-driven economy.

And finally, today we will join New York City Chief Technology Officer Matthew Fraser, New York City Public Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos and T-Mobile to announce that 350,000 K-12 New York City Public Schools students will receive new internet-enabled devices at no cost during the 2025-2026 school year. The nation's largest public school district is equipping students with the technology and connectivity needed to optimize educational programming and succeed in today's digital learning environment. We also continue to partner with the district to pair devices with digital skills via Girls Who Game programming.

In the months and years ahead, you will see Dell continue this work of listening and leaning into the community eco-system, innovating and partnering in new ways that enable collective impact. You'll see us building technology that makes AI more accessible, expanding partnerships with workforce development nonprofits, and developing new resources for communities that accelerate their mission, increase their capacity and improve skills. Join us and participate in our village at dell.com/impact.