Hotspots for Student
Homes without Internet
Project Update – September 5, 2020
Washington noon rotary, along with Nick Sanders of the hackney restaurant wish to thank all those who havecontributed and helped us reach our goal!
You can donate by Paypal or Credit Card!
This transaction is handled by Paypal, but you don’t need a Paypal account if you choose to pay by credit card on the next screen.
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601 Carolina Aveunue
Washington, NC 27898
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This recent Facebook post from Nick Sanders explains our exciting new project:
Help Beaufort County Provide Access to Remote Schooling to All Students
After hearing of the tragic passing of our beloved Mayor Mac (Bear) Hodges we were discussing his indomitable can-do spirit that all in our community will miss greatly. That got us thinking about what tangible things we can do to support those in our community most impacted by this terrible pandemic. Our thoughts quickly zeroed in on the children in our community who are being asked to attend the new school year remotely. We decided to do a little digging to understand how that’s going.
The good news is that Beaufort County Schools have developed a comprehensive plan to provide safe access to online schooling to our county’s students. This is a particular challenge as a significant percentage of households in our county do not have access to broadband services. To understand the extent of the challenge a questionnaire was sent out to all parents at the end of the last semester to identify the needs of all students. As a result students have been provided with hardware (either an ipad or a chromebook) and households without a broadband connection have been given a mobile hotspot.
However as the new semester now kicks off the county is finding that the need is greater than anticipated. Beaufort County Schools have sufficient stocks of hardware, but have run out of budget required to purchase additional hot spots. They estimate that up to 200 children may be impacted. Hot spots cost around $274 for a year so this equates to a budget shortfall of around $55,000.
We know that the Beaufort County School District and the Board of Education is committed to serving all of their students and would not under any circumstances leave them unserved. But to do so without additional revenue, would require budget adjustments and reductions in services. The purpose of this Project is to provide as much of those additional revenues as possible, so that budget cuts are not necessary in these times of scarce resources. As concerned citizens we can step up and help.
The Hackney and the Washington Noon Rotary (of which Mac was a valued member for many years) are therefore teaming up to try and solve this issue. We have already received commitments from local businesses and individuals of over $7000 as a match for initial donations. Additional matching funds are expected to be forthcoming. Even one child missing out is too many so please help us close the shortfall in hotspots and therefore provide all our students with the means to participate in this school year.
Please contact either Nick Sanders 252 347 4243 or . nick@thehackneydistillery.com, or Bob Douglas, Rotary Service Project Lead, at 530 949 1332 or bd2012douglas@gmail.com if you have any questions and would like to be part of solving this issue. Donations can be made by check, payee is: RI District 7720 Charitable Trust and please put Hot Spot Project Washington Noon Rotary in the memo line so you can treat this as a charitable donation for tax purposes.
We now have the online credit card or PayPal donation capability. Please see this page on our site: https://washingtonnoonrotary.org/hotspots-for-students/
Checks can be mailed directly to Nick Sanders at 627 Main St,. Washington N.C. 27889
You can donate online here!
Your tax deductible donation will be to Rotary District 7720 Charitable Trust
You can donate by Paypal or Credit Card!
This transaction is handled by Paypal, but you don’t need a Paypal account if you choose to pay by credit card on the next screen.
Read the Washington Daily News for more information
The Hackney, Rotary step up to address student internet access
“The Hackney and Washington (Noon) Rotary are teaming up to address a pressing need for Beaufort County Schools students who lack internet access in their homes.
As school started back this week, BCS began its fall semester under a system of remote learning due to COVID-19. Though the school system prepared by providing iPads, Chromebooks and wireless hotspots to kids without technology, BCS found itself with a budget shortfall of approximately…”
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