2020 in Review: The Year in Pictures
A year like no other. That’s the phrase our staff and volunteers have used almost daily as we added more sites and rolled out more equipment than ever before.
Being in the field this year meant our teams had to stay vigilant, and go beyond their tech training to ensure they worked safely, and protect the vulnerable.
We fist bumped, we elbow high-fived, and we were inspired by the friends we made, usually six feet apart.
The question, “How are we going to do this?” Turned into, “How can we do more?”
There is a lot that changed about our world this year, our volunteers’ dedication to underserved communities highlighted by the coronavirus was a change we will never forget and that future generations will be proud of.
Thank you for joining us on the frontlines of 2020.
While traveling across the great plains of this country, our techs encountered stories that gave us hope, broke our hearts, and found a place in our mission forever.
Helping each other is the bright side of a difficult year.
Here are some stories we will long remember.
Tatums, Oklahoma
An isolated rural community, Tatums, Oklahoma, reached out for help. They feared their children were being left behind amid the pandemic. Most kids in the farming township did not have Internet at home and needed a way to continue learning online.
While generations had passed farmland down, the farmers knew how important life with the internet had become. Thanks to a donated satellite connection, our techs were able to extend WiFi into the neighborhood from their local church.
Earthquakes in Puerto Rico
After a 6.4 magnitude earthquake ripped through Puerto Rico, residents fled to makeshift shelters while the aftershocks continued. Our Tech Task Force provided equipment and technical assistance for the response, and established WiFi and video streaming in shelters across the island.
Evacuees who sought shelter faced weeks of uncertainty, but were able to communicate with their loved ones and occupy their children with movies.
Sister M. Paulina Cardona Echevarria, added a tent at her convent where survivors could pray and seek comfort. “I spend 50% of my time praying for Puerto Rico and 50% of my time helping Puerto Rico,” said Sister Echevarria.
Don’t Walk By, New York City
In February, our Region 2 team joined up with the Salvation Army to help with their annual Don’t Walk By Campaign. Volunteers provided technology solutions that aided street canvassing teams connecting those in need with food, medical, and social services. We were inspired by our NYC volunteers who spent weeks planning, coding, testing, and deploying software and hardware to dispatch volunteers to provide assistance to the homeless population.
Brilliant Detroit
Our projectConnect teams installed more than 600 homework hotspot sites around the country this year. A success story that stuck with us is nonprofit Brilliant Detroit. Their community centers were shuttered, but the staff was committed to sticking together and continuing to help the more than five thousand kids it serves each year. Brilliant Detroit’s Co-Founder said it best, “The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the tears in the U.S. safety net and stretched our families even further to meet basic needs.”
We’re happy we were able to help meet their community’s needs by installing WiFi hotspots in underserved neighborhoods, bringing the neighborhood back together — virtually, during lockdown. Brilliant Detroit used the connectivity to focus on student education, health, and family support.
Crisis Counseling, New Mexico
Mental health issues have been an increasing concern this year, with record numbers of people looking for help with anxiety and depression. Crisis counseling is essential to the emotional well being of every community — but face to face meetings pose an exposure risk to patients and clinicians. ITDRC is providing handheld tablets to social workers in New Mexico to ensure they can remain in contact with patients through video and tele-health platforms.
Hurricane Laura, Louisiana
Every disaster has heroes. Some are visible on the front lines, others completely out of sight.
When Hurricane Laura hit SW Louisiana this summer, it seemed to take aim at Lake Charles, Louisiana — severing communications at all 70 school campuses in Calcasieu Parish. Network Supervisor Yvette Ardoin rode the Category 4 storm out in the vault of her datacenter with 2 other members of her team. Despite personal loss and heavy damage to each of their homes, Ardoin’s team remained together working around the clock for 3 weeks to restore access and services for students and faculty.
As they explained, “Our problems were so big, ITDRC heard about us.”
ITDRC provided technical assistance, infrastructure assessments, and temporary connectivity to the community during recovery.
Dam Failure, Michigan
In mid-May, more than ten thousand people were forced to evacuate when 2 dams failed in central Michigan, damaging or destroying an estimated 2,500 properties. ITDRC responded to provide communications and technical resources for damage assessment and community recovery. Although many residents want to rebuild, many of the homes rely on the water supply from nearby lakes and rivers, but hundreds of wells remain dry.
Hoh Tribe, Washington State
After eight long years waiting for Internet access, ITDRC was honored to fulfill the hopes of parents and children alike with essential connectivity at the Hoh Reservation. This moment in 2020 will not soon be forgotten by our team, and has been a source of hope for the tribe during a difficult year. With 1600 acres of dead cell phone space, the tribe fought for their children to have access to the internet while on lockdown.
ITDRC connected the Hoh tribe’s council office with outdoor WiFi that broadcast across the parking lot. Within hours, kids piled on the office steps giggling, playing games, and catching up on missed school work.
MelvinJohn Ashue, a member of the council for the Hoh tribe understood what this connectivity meant for the next generation. “This generation is going to show us a lot and this Internet will change the way we live, our children will show them they are worth it.”
California Wildfires
The Creek Fire was the 4th largest wildfire in California’s history, burning 380 thousand acres and destroying 856 buildings in the Fresno area. With more than 30,000 people evacuated, the California Governor’s Office Of Emergency Services engaged ITDRC to help with aerial and street level damage assessments.
Within hours of mobilization, high resolution images of damaged homes, neighborhoods, and municipal infrastructure were collected and provided to CalOES, enabling civil engineers to review damage remotely, and expediting the documentation and recovery process.
“I really get excited about how this technology can help, I like to bring technology where it is needed,” said John Mosher, Region 9 volunteer and professional drone pilot.
Repatriation Flight Quarantine Shelter
When the Coronavirus became known as a health emergency in January, the US scrambled to prepare for the pandemic. Our Region 9 team was tasked to provide connectivity in a makeshift quarantine shelter in Ontario, California. The repatriation flight from China, with more than 200 passengers was subsequently diverted to a nearby military base with more suitable housing.
