TechBloc Looks to Rally SA Tech Community to Aid Low-Income Families

April 20, 2020 - San Antonio

All hands on tech. Photo Courtesy: TechBloc San Antonio.

All hands on tech. Photo Courtesy: TechBloc San Antonio.

By Jonathan Guajardo - Publisher/Editor-In-Chief, San Antonio Sentinel

“Tech Bloc is all about unity,” stated Ileana Gonzalez, Tech Bloc’s operations and community engagement manager during a phone interview with the Sentinel. “So we came up with this idea when [San Antonio Independent School District] approached us about the whole digital divide and not being able to reach over 25% of their students.” The idea referenced by Gonzalez later evolved into SA Tech Comes Together: Digital Campfire Meetup, a community-driven philanthropic event that will take place this afternoon from 4-5:30 p.m. Designed with the idea of rallying the tech community to help SAISD raise money for students with limited technological access, the event looks to help bridge the city’s digital divide as well as bring together a tight-knit community of thinkers, makers, and community leaders for an engaging discussion about the state of the San Antonio tech scene post-coronavirus.

The family of Rackspace’s former president, Lew Moorman, pledged to match up to a $12,500 in donations. “With $25, you can provide internet broadband for an entire family for a whole month,” stated Gonzales when discussing the match-donation model they will be employing. “So we’re reaching, hopefully, 150 families for a whole year because we don’t know how long COVID-19 is going to be.”

“San Antonio always comes together when things like this happen…and we all contribute for the greater good,” said Gonzalez. “This is kind of nudging people to realize that a lot of families don’t have internet broadband at their house, that not everybody is going through the same experience of COVID-19, and bringing awareness of that education. We have to keep our kids [educated].”

The purpose of the meeting won’t stop there, however. It will also feature a message from Mayor Ron Nirenberg about the SA tech industry and an update from Dr. Larry Schlesinger, president of Texas Biomedical Research, about the role that San Antonio is playing in the development of a coronavirus vaccine. “It’s a really, really full program that I think a lot of people are going to enjoy,” described Gonzalez. “You get it all in one hour and a half.”

Below is a list of the notable community leaders who will be involved in the open meeting:

Jonathan Guajardo is the editor-in-chief at the San Antonio Sentinel. He can be reached at jonathan@sasentinel.com.