Through the Trees is a community-based nonprofit in Brevard whose mission is to bridge the digital divide—one signal, one device, one neighbor at a time—across rural Western North Carolina. The digital divide is the gap between those who have access to reliable internet service, appropriate devices, and the skills to use technology, and those who do not. In WNC, this gap is especially persistent due to mountainous topography and low population density, which make broadband infrastructure difficult and expensive to install and maintain. These geographic challenges are compounded by economic hardship, limited educational opportunity, an aging population, and a shortage of accessible digital skills training—leaving some residents unable to fully participate in school, employment, healthcare, and community life.
