Amazon to Donate 8,200 Laptops to Help Seattle Students Learn Online at 'Crucial Time'

Prior to the new efforts, Amazon has been lending its support to SPS students and families through the Right Now Needs Fund, which was established in October 2018 with a $2 million grant.

In partnership with the Alliance for Education, the fund supports all 102 SPS schools and aims to help “principals, teachers, and parents collaborate to remove students’ most basic barriers to learning, such as the need for food, clothing, and housing.”

The company already gave a $250,000 grant in 2019 for summer programming and said that in recent weeks, they’ve given another $150,000 to support families struggling amid the coronavirus pandemic — efforts which were recognized by Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan.

“Measures from the City, County, and State to combat the spread of COVID-19 have had an impact on our day-to-day lives and that couldn’t be truer for our students. Despite schools closing, it is important for students to be engaged and I commend Amazon for stepping up to meet the needs of kids who may not have equal access to the tools they need to keep learning at home,” Durkan said in the release.

“Seattle will get through this tough time by doing what Seattle does best and that is coming together,” Durkan added. “We’re lucky to have companies and non-profit organizations in the City that have risen to meet challenges of this pandemic.”

As of Monday, there have been at least 357,036 cases and 10,522 deaths attributed to coronavirus in the United States, according to the New York Times. In Washington State, at least 7,984 cases and 344 deaths have been reported, according to the outlet.

As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from CDC, WHO, and local public health departments. To help provide doctors and nurses on the front lines with life-saving medical resources, donate to Direct Relief here.

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