In south-central Los Angeles underserved communities were hit hard by the pandemic, and struggling families found their struggle greater than ever before.
· Elementary school children whose classes had moved online due to COVID-19 couldn’t participate because their families couldn’t afford a laptop.
· A young woman in a wheelchair who lacked technology found herself more isolated than ever before.
· A local gentleman without the means to buy a computer was driven to find a way to start his own non-profit to provide support in his hard-hit community.
Rama Arya, CEO of Elevated Life Solutions has always known that knowledge is power. He believes that with knowledge anyone can change their life condition. Somalie Inez shares that viewpoint. Somalie is an old friend of Rama’s who started a charitable organization of her own – Point of Love foundation, about a year ago.
Point of Love aspires to support the education of underprivileged people in the community. Somalie believes that teaching financial literacy to young people and minorities who never had any guidance or education in how to build a life is vital to changing their living situations.
When the pandemic hit, Somalie needed to move her message online via Zoom, but the fledgling foundation was short on funds for things like technology. Elevated Life Solutions was there for her. Rama provided Point of Love with tech support which included securing and paying for a discounted Zoom subscription for PointofLove.org.
“Rama is committed to providing technology through Elevated Life Solutions and Point of Love,” says Somalie, “because he understands the importance of reaching and lifting up underserved communities.”
With their goals aligned, Rama and Somalie decided to work together to distribute much-needed technology to the neediest community members they could reach. It was important to both Somalie and Elevated Life Solutions that the computers get into the right hands – where there is the greatest need. To that end, Point of Love created an application process for local people to request laptops. The process includes determining each applicant’s specific technology needs and also their level of computer literacy.
Through his non-profit, Rama was able to purchase and refurbish 55 laptop computers which have already been distributed to families in South Central Los Angeles.
To date, these computers have reached:
· Several Elementary school children whose classes have moved online due to Coronavirus
· The woman in a wheelchair (in her 30’s) who has been isolated, without a computer to connect to people
· The gentleman who had no computer, but was interested in starting a non-profit of his own so he could pay-it-forward
When the laptops are distributed, each person receiving one has to sign in. The recipient is shown how to set up and use the laptop then they are asked if they need further instruction or education on computer use. Rama is always there to provide any support. Somalie is grateful to have Rama and Elevated Life Solutions as a partner. She says,
“Rama is a beam of light and has the heart to want to make a difference. To be of service – in any way. Our hearts are aligned to help people.”
To help more kids and underserved community members get a laptop, please donate here.
