Cleveland - The Cleveland Indians and Ohio’s 529 Plan, CollegeAdvantage, Tuesday announced an $86,000 technology donation to Cleveland Metropolitan School District to help bridge the digital divide that schools have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the current pandemic hit before the end of school year, it became apparent that some students and schools in the Cleveland area did not have basic internet access or technology at home to help them keep up with school digitally. The Cleveland Indians wanted to help bridge the digital divide by providing a $64,000 donation and 50 used laptops from the front office. The donation total was raised to $86,000 when Indians partner Ohio 529 pledged $22,000 towards the cause. The combined donation will provide over 300 hotspots powered by Sprint.
“A lack of access to reliable high-speed Internet has been one of the biggest challenges our students have faced during this pandemic,” said Cleveland Metropolitan School District CEO Eric Gordon. “Without reliable access, students' options for remote learning are limited. With support from the Cleveland Indians and Ohio 529, we can move closer to our goal of eliminating this barrier for them.”
The Tribe have partnered with Ohio’s 529 Plan for the past two seasons, working together on a $10,000 college savings award giveaway for families in Ohio. The $10,000 college savings award giveaway will begin this August as the new school year begins and is open to all families. Must be 18+ to enter.
“Over the past two years Ohio’s 529 Plan, CollegeAdvantage, has worked with the Cleveland Indians to enrich the lives of students in Northeast Ohio by offering CollegeAdvantage Saving Awards to families. Today, we are continuing that partnership by providing computer hotspots and laptops to student who need them. This is just another example of our commitment to help make education more affordable and accessible to all students within the state. During this pandemic, we all have a responsibility to help each other. We at CollegeAdvantage are no different. We look at our donation to the Cleveland Metropolitan School District as our way to help students who may not have the tools necessary to continue their education in the online world. This donation will help bring the technology that students need to succeed during their digital school year,” said Tim Gorrell, Executive Director of Ohio’s 529 Plan, CollegeAdvantage.
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