Duval County

BEAM gifts laptops, iPads to local students in single-parent households

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Dozens of local students benefited from a donation of laptops and iPads. The Beaches Emergency Assistance Ministry, also known as BEAM, organized a technology distribution for families enrolled in their Single Parent Program (SPP). The program was designed to interrupt the cycle of poverty for local single mothers and their children.

BEAM gifted 19 iPads for children in elementary school and 11 brand new Dell laptops for middle and high school students. Gracie Simendinger, Director of Development for BEAM, said they wanted to do something special for the families.

“This year has been especially challenging,” Simendinger said. “The parents are already abiding to strict budgets and new computers for their children were just not feasible.”

Simendinger said it was made possible thanks to an anonymous donor. “Fortunately, we had an incredible donor reach out to see how they could support the single mothers during these difficult times,” Simendinger said.

Elleia Carrington said her 15-year-old son Kaii, a sophomore at Fletcher High School, was using a loaner laptop from Duval County Public Schools.

Now, he has his own.

“Kai was so excited to have it,” Carrington said. “We appreciate and we love it.” Carrington said the laptop will help keep her son on track this school year.

“He still have work online to do,” Carrington said. “It will help him.” Carrington said she would like to thank the anonymous donor who made this possible. “We really, really appreciate this,” Carrington said. “We thank you so much for this Dell laptop that Kai is able to do his schoolwork on.”

DCPS said between Duval HomeRoom and the hybrid model, there are 31,990 laptops on loan to students and 22,816 hotspots currently on loan.