For nearly two decades, digitalLIFT has worked alongside community organizations, educators, volunteers, and students to ensure that everyone has the skills, resources, and confidence needed to participate fully in today’s digital world. Through service-learning partnerships, digitalLIFT creates opportunities for students to move beyond the classroom and contribute to meaningful community-driven solutions.
One of these valued partnerships is with the University of San Francisco through the Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good. Through this collaboration, students have supported digital inclusion efforts while gaining firsthand experience working alongside community members.
Angeline Vuong, Director of Community-Engaged Learning and Strategic Partnerships at the McCarthy Center, shared how the partnership has impacted both students and the communities they serve.
“One of the most meaningful aspects of partnering with digitalLIFT has been seeing our students apply what they learn in the classroom to meet a real community identified need.”
Through their work with digitalLIFT, USF students develop practical skills in communication, teaching, and cultural humility while gaining a deeper understanding of how digital access impacts equity and opportunity.
“Digital inclusion is not simply about technology,” Angeline shared. “It’s about expanding opportunities for people to access essential services, education, employment, healthcare, and civic participation.”
This shared commitment reflects the power of community-engaged learning: creating experiences where students and community members learn from one another while working toward a common goal. Rather than a one-way service model, these partnerships are built on reciprocity, humility, and respect.
“Partnerships like ours demonstrate the best of community-engaged learning because they create reciprocal benefits for both students and the community,” said Angeline. “They demonstrate the tenets of reciprocity, humility, and respect within a community-campus partnership.”
At digitalLIFT, we believe that digital equity requires collaboration across sectors. By bringing together students, educators, volunteers, and community organizations, we can create stronger pathways for people of all ages and backgrounds to build digital confidence and access the opportunities technology makes possible.
We are grateful to the University of San Francisco and the McCarthy Center for their continued partnership and commitment to empowering communities while providing students with meaningful opportunities to serve, learn, and reflect.
Together, we are building a more digitally inclusive future.
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