CITGO Petroleum Corporation, in partnership with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO), donated 150 Kindle tablets to the Houston and Alief Independent School Districts to help support low-income students’ e-learning needs during the COVID-19 school closures and subsequent move to remote learning platforms.
“We are very pleased to support Houston-area students as they remain safe at home while continuing their academic curriculum online under this unprecedented challenge to public health and education,” said CITGO President and CEO, Carlos Jordá.
CITGO has had a six-year partnership with the HCSO with the Kindling Young Minds program, an initiative that awards Kindle Fire tablets to Houston-area students that achieved perfect or much-improved attendance records. In the face of the challenges created by the COVID-19 emergency, this year the program was modified to better serve the beneficiary school districts.
“The CITGO flexibility to attend to the districts’ needs at this time of crisis is remarkable and truly appreciated. It will make e-learning possible for many students that do not have computers or laptops at home,” affirmed Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. “I am very proud of the job we have done in collaboration with CITGO over the years, but this donation will be particularly impactful, not just for the schools, but for the whole community working together to flatten the curve of the pandemic.”
The Android-based tablets were distributed on March 19 to students selected by the corresponding ISD based on socioeconomic data, just in time for the transitional remote learning period that starts on March 23.
To date, CITGO has helped distribute more than 600 Kindles through the Kindling Young Minds program.
