Kansas City’s digital divide will soon be narrower thanks to a LEANLAB Education effort that already has secured $467,360 in funding to help 17 local charter schools purchase technology and WiFi hotspots for students who might be at risk.

To date, the charter schools have used the funding from education nonprofit SchoolSmartKC to purchase 592 laptops or tablets and 719 internet hotspots for students impacted by the sprawling city’s disparity of access — made more clear amid COVID-19 precautions that shut down schools, LEANLAB said Friday in a press release.

When someone gives $1,200 to LEANLAB’s effort to provide needed technology to students, four families get connected for one year.