In just about every country, a percentage of the population has the best information technology that society has to offer. They have the most powerful computers, the best telephones and the fastest Internet service, as well as a wealth of content and training relevant to their lives.

There is another group of people. They are the people, who for one reason or another, don’t have access to the newest or best computers, the most reliable telephone service or the fastest or most convenient Internet services.

The difference between these two groups of people is what society calls the digital divide.

Although the Silicon Valley is renowned for having relatively high wages compared to the national average, the digital divide continues to widen.

To help remedy this, the San Jose Mercury News Wish Book gave De Anza $10,000 to be used to help single parent students purchase computer hardware and software, according to the Director of Financial Aid Cindy Castillo.

Castillo says that she and Cheryl Hylton, of the Foothill-De Anza Colleges Foundation, will be pursuing a way to maximize those funds.

“We’d like to make a connection with a vendor, possibly Gateway … that would give our students a good price as well as some tech support, if possible,” she says.

Castillo says that when De Anza advertises the scholarship this fall, De Anza would like to have an arrangement set up for the college to pay the vendor directly, and also to be sure the student is well served.

Through outreach to the many communities that comprise Silicon Valley, residents who want to donate to worthy causes are invited to do so through the Wish Book.

De Anza College President Martha Kanter said, “I commend the San Jose Mercury News for making the stories about individuals, families and organizations in need known to the public, and for providing the opportunity for people with financial means to donate to the causes of their choice described in the WishBook.”