$100,000 grant to help bridge a digital divide in El Paso

Community News

El Paso, Texas, Foundation, Sustainability
MPC’s support of Project Overcome in El Paso will help provide the infrastructure needed to deliver high-speed internet service to an underserved area of the city.

Key Points

  • A $100,000 grant is advancing an effort to expand broadband internet access in a section of El Paso, Texas, where many households have no internet subscription.
  • The funds from Marathon Petroleum will support a project to provide the necessary infrastructure for service delivery in an underserved ZIP code.
  • The nonprofit coalition Borderplex Connect will lead the project, which is expected to begin later this year.

An effort to expand broadband internet access in an underserved area of El Paso, Texas, has gained momentum through a $100,000 grant from Marathon Petroleum Corporation’s (MPC) El Paso refinery. The funds will support Project Overcome, which focuses on the 79901 ZIP code where limited internet availability exists.

Participants in the announcement of MPC’s $100,000 grant included (L to R) El Paso Community Foundation CEO Eric Pearson, MPC Principal Corporate Social Responsibility & Community Relations Representative V.J. Smith, and Borderplex Connect CEO Andrea Tirres. 

“This ZIP code faces some of the deepest digital and economic divides in the region,” said Andrea Tirres, CEO of Borderplex Connect, the nonprofit recipient and supporting organization of the El Paso Community Foundation. “An astounding 44% of households have no internet subscription at all, while about 27% of households rely on their cellular subscription to access the internet according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Commerce.”

“This ZIP code faces some of the deepest digital and economic divides in the region.” 

MPC’s V.J. Smith noted how the grant helps reinforce the company’s broader commitment to promote thriving communities where it operates.

Project Overcome is expected to begin later this year. It will provide the infrastructure needed to deliver high-speed internet service to a targeted section of the 79901 ZIP code.

“This assistance is among our more important investments in El Paso because it will link so many residents with resources and opportunities that they’ve never had before,” said MPC Principal Corporate Social Responsibility & Community Relations Representative V.J. Smith.

Borderplex Connect is a regional coalition of public, private and nonprofit organizations that promotes broadband accessibility and affordability across far West Texas and southern New Mexico. Along with expanding internet service, the coalition supports digital skills training, distribution of devices that connect to the internet, and access to affordable internet for low-income residents and rural households.

“Working with Borderplex Connect reinforces MPC’s broader commitment to promote thriving communities where we operate by addressing basic needs and fostering economic progress,” Smith said.

Borderplex Connect cited data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Commerce that indicate 44% of households in the 79901 ZIP code have no internet subscription.