Paine College, musician CeeLo Green gift entire student body with Android tablets

Joe Hotchkiss, Augusta Chronicle
·2 min read
Paine College student Deandre Durham (left) takes receipt of an Android tablet from Vernell Woods, CEO of Moolah Wireless, at Paine's HEAL Complex.
Paine College student Deandre Durham (left) takes receipt of an Android tablet from Vernell Woods, CEO of Moolah Wireless, at Paine's HEAL Complex.
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Paine College is providing its students with a free electronic tablet, and the school harnessed some star power to help make it happen.

Students erupted into applause Friday as school officials announced during Paine’s 140th Fall Convocation that all students attending the college through federal Pell Grants will receive 32-gigabyte Android tablets.

Each tablet, formatted and distributed by Atlanta-based internet service provider Moolah Wireless, comes with 12 months of free internet connectivity.

Paine College President Dr. Cheryl Evans Jones speaks during Paine College's opening fall convocation at the school. Paine College announced that, with the help of CeeLo Green and Moolah Wireless, they will be able to provide free tablets to all Pell Grant students.
Paine College President Dr. Cheryl Evans Jones speaks during Paine College's opening fall convocation at the school. Paine College announced that, with the help of CeeLo Green and Moolah Wireless, they will be able to provide free tablets to all Pell Grant students.

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This gift-giving story might sound familiar. On Aug. 15, rapper T.I. - an investor in Moolah Wireless – helped distribute the company’s tablets to students at Atlanta’s Morris Brown College.

At Paine College, singer-songwriter CeeLo Green became the school’s Distinguished Artist-in-Residence in 2021.

“We said, 'OK, Atlanta has T.I. We have CeeLo,’” said J.R. Henderson, a member of Paine’s Board of Trustees. “So we picked up the phone and called CeeLo Green and said, ‘You know something? We want to do exactly what we saw another college do.’”

Green could not attend Friday’s convocation but spoke encouragingly to the gathering at Paine’s HEAL Complex in a brief recorded video.

CeeLo Green gives a prerecorded message during Paine College's opening fall convocation at the school. Paine College announced that, with the help of CeeLo Green and Moolah Wireless, they will be able to provide free tablets to all Pell Grant students.
CeeLo Green gives a prerecorded message during Paine College's opening fall convocation at the school. Paine College announced that, with the help of CeeLo Green and Moolah Wireless, they will be able to provide free tablets to all Pell Grant students.

Moolah Wireless is a part of the Federal Communication Commission’s $14 billion Affordable Connectivity Program, which partially reimburses broadband providers’ costs for participating in the program. It's goal is to provide low-cost internet access, according to Moolah’s website. 

Paine College students who are not enrolled in the federal Pell Grant program currently and did not receive a tablet may still be eligible. Individuals also qualify if they are enrolled in other federal programs such as the National School Lunch Program or Federal Public Housing Assistance.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Paine, CeeLo Green gift entire student body with Android tablets