PHILADELPHIA, PA – On March 13, 2014, Philadelphia Children’s Foundation distributed computers to the fifth grade students of Hartranft Elementary School. The entire fifth grade class, totaling 59 children received a computer. Students and their families, joined by Hartranft faculty and several members of the Philadelphia Children’s Foundation board, gathered in the Hartranft auditorium to collect 60 newly refurbished computers.
Principal Kelli Rosado addressed the students and their families and outlined the advantages of having a computer at home and her expectations for academic success. Rosado said she plans to incorporate computer-based learning into the fifth grade curriculum, which is now possible because the students have access to a computer at home for the first time.
PCF collects computers from individuals as well as large companies that need to do something with the oftentimes large stockpile of aging computers. PCF volunteers spend hundreds of hours carefully refurbishing each computer by replacing internal componets, updating and installing modern software, and ensuring each machine meets consumer safety standards.
PCF’s founder and executive director, John Bannan, also spoke to the students and their families. “The children of the School District of Philadelphia deserve the same resources and tools that any family would want to have to support their children,” Bannan said. “We couldn’t be more excited to partner with Hartranft Elementary School and all the families here. Through technology, we are committing together to help every child get the most knowledge from their school, their city, and our world.”
This is the first step in PCF and Hartranft’s joint effort to equip every student with a computer at home. PCF is already working on the next phase of the collaboration: supplementing Hartranft’s resources with additional computers for everyday classroom use. PCF plans at least two more batches of donations, totaling approximately 150 computers.
The Philadelphia Children’s Foundation was founded in 2006 and is dedicated to improving the lives of Philadelphia’s young people and their families. PCF collects, rehabs, and distributes hundreds of computers to underserved students and runs a series of career-oriented programs that give help children of all ages find their passion, develop needed skills, and make positive career and life decisions.