SUGARLOAF, Pa. — It wasn't your average Amazon delivery being unloaded at Valley Elementary Middle School in Sugarloaf on Monday.
"We're here today donating about $50,000 in back-to-school supplies to our local teachers, computers that will help our students at Valley Elementary, as well as different sanitation supplies," explained Mariah Grabinski, a human resource manager at Amazon.
Amazon tells Newswatch 16 it employs 3,000 associates, many of whom have children in the Hazleton Area School District. This is part of the company's initiative to support the local community.
While the boxes of sanitation supplies are needed, the district says the delivery of 135 laptops is a big deal.
"It's a great impact," said Hazleton Area Superintendent Brian Uplinger. "Before the pandemic, we could probably purchase a laptop for $145 to $200. Now they're about $350. So, by us getting these as a donation, we're able to offset that cost, utilize it somewhere else, or even provide additional computers to other students or other buildings."
"We use them every day for all of our work. So, they're really important to all of us, so we can learn and do all of our schoolwork," said eighth-grader Lexi Staffin.
"I use it for like, imagine reading and imagine learning," said sixth-grader Katie Rodgers.
"Being as large as we are, we are fortunate enough to be one-to-one. The pandemic kind of pushed us in that direction to be able to purchase computers for every student across the district. This will help," said Uplinger.
The district forecasts more students coming into their schools as companies like Amazon continue to open or expand into warehouses nearby.
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