We started the Hoosier Explorers Field Trip Fund several years ago to help local public schools take students on more field trips in Indiana. PCCU staff and members have given generously to this fund and helped many local kids explore their home state.
When schools began to shutter in mid-March, it wiped out many of these trips that had already been greenlighted, and kept numerous others from going past the planning stage. So we began looking for other ways to help local students in these tough times.
When PCCU’s Education & Outreach Director Kim Welch spoke to New Castle Community Schools about how the credit union might help out they directed her to Dustin Chew, Director of Technology. Dustin requested access points that would allow the schools to push their wifi coverage outside of their buildings and allow families without internet access at home to connect on school grounds.
Thanks to the generosity of staff and members, PCCU was happy to donate five of these access points, which will enable Dustin to wire up each of New Castle’s elementary schools. He also explained that their reach would allow teachers to take classes outside to work on days when the weather is nice. Dustin was optimistic that these access points would push the wifi even farther out into the schools’ neighborhoods, making it even easier for New Castle students to get online. Additionally, they will remain up and running during the summer and beyond, serving the community year-round, even when students and teachers are able to return to school.