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Amazon donates more than 8,000 laptops to Seattle elementary school families

SEATTLE — Amazon is supplying 8,200 laptops to families that have elementary school students in Seattle Public Schools.

The laptops, worth more than $2 million, will help students who don’t have a computer at home participate in parts of continuous learning programs that require online access during the coronavirus pandemic.

SPS closed schools on March 12 and then focused on providing students and families with meal distribution at 26 sites and ways to approach to remote learning.

With this donation to some elementary students, SPS will be then be able to prioritize distributing district laptops to high school and middle school students.

The laptops will be shipped directly to students. Students receiving laptops from Amazon will keep them permanently.

“Amazon’s gift comes at a crucial time for our students,” said SPS Superintendent Denise Juneau. “We’ve never lost sight of the need to continue our students’ education -- even during this unprecedented time.”

"Making sure our kids have the ability to keep learning is one of the most important things we can collectively do during the COVID-19 crisis," said Andy Jassy, CEO, Amazon Web Services.

Amazon is also helping SPS students and their families through the Right Now Needs Fund – an Amazon partnership with the Alliance for Education that helps principals, teachers, and parents work together to help provide basic needs such as food, clothing, and housing.

The Alliance for Education distributes funds to schools according to student needs.

The fund was created by Amazon in October 2018 with a $2 million grant. Since then, Amazon has continued its support, including an additional $250,000 grant for 2019 summer programming and another $150,000 grant to help families who are having extra hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Businesses, community groups, and individuals are encouraged to get involved and donate to the Alliance’s Education Equity Fund to help provide students the support they need to continue to learn.