RAYMOND, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service Center for 4-H Youth Development recently received a grant that will help close the digital divide in the state.

The one-year, $53,000 grant from the National 4-H Council and Verizon will help implement the 4-H Tech Changemakers program. The program enlists 4-H members to teach digital skills that can provide more opportunities, including better jobs, to adults in their communities.

The Center for 4-H Youth Development will partner with eight Extension agents in Choctaw, Noxubee, Attala, Coahoma, Humphreys, Newton, Pike and Harrison counties to train 40 young adults. Grant funding will provide technological devices, such as iPads and drones, for participants to use in the training.

“As Mississippi is preparing to expand broadband, this is the perfect time for the 4-H Tech Changemakers program in our state,” said Mariah Morgan, 4-H STEM specialist and associate Extension professor for the Center for 4-H Youth Development. “The training can help bridge the digital gap that exists in so many of our rural communities.”

Training through the program is free.

The 4-H Tech Changemakers program will reach 10,500 adults across the country with the current round of funding. For more information about the program, visit https://tinyurl.com/szzvfrac.