 Shaping our Appalachian region has recently received a $500,000 grant from the Federal Communications Commission to expand the Affordable Connectivity Program to help eastern Kentucky residents. The broadband has been a pillar of source work since our inception. So part of that work is, how do we get affordable, reliable broadband to every citizen in Kentucky's 54 Appalachian counties? The second piece of that puzzle is, how can we leverage connectivity where it already exists to get the maximum value out of it? So the Affordable Connectivity Program is a $30 credit provided by the Federal Communications Commission through providers for folks that are on SNAP benefits, that's children are on free and reduced lunch, college students that are receiving Pell grants, and so we saw this as a unique opportunity to get more people connected. But more importantly, what are they going to do with the connectivity? Appalachian Wireless is making it so easy and affordable to stay connected to friends, family, and the world. With the Forward Pay Unlimited or Unlimited Plus Plan, get $50 off any Forward Pay device. And don't forget, with Forward Pay, there are no credit checks or long term contracts. It's Forward Pay on the region's premier network, Appalachian Wireless. We get you because we are you. We are Appalachian Wireless. Activation fee required, just kind of apply that point of sale. The grant will allow SOAR to market the Affordable Connectivity Program in 26 counties that have good connectivity but low participation in the program. We're specifically targeting those counties with media campaigns, digital advertising, but also we have a team, we have a team of professionals, we have a digital equity team that includes two full time staff and a lead for America Fellows. So what we're doing is we're going out to these communities, we're hosting events, we're partnering with libraries, our public schools, our community colleges, churches, nonprofits, food banks, community action agencies, wherever we can go to talk about this because the uniqueness of this is that the credit can be applied to new customers and existing customers. So we know that there's a lot of families out there, the holidays are coming up, you're trying to figure out how to save money, you're getting all these smartphones and tablets and TVs and all those things. This is a $30 benefit and we not only talk about it but our digital equity team works with folks on the ground to walk them through the application process and to connect them with their desired provider to get the $30 credit. For more information on the Affordable Connectivity Program, go to sore-ky.org. Reporting for Mountaintop News, I'm Brianna Robinson.