Grants from Hendrick Hudson Community Educational Foundation (HHCEF) typically enrich student learning in the district, but a recent donation is providing an educational lifeline to students at a secondary school thousands of miles away, in war-torn Ukraine.
HHCEF sent 50 Chromebooks to the Buchatka School in western Ukraine via charitable foundation Brother’s Brother. The devices had been used by Hendrick Hudson students for the past four years and were being phased out as part of the district’s ongoing technology replacement cycle for Chromebooks and laptops. Upon accepting the Chromebooks as a donation from the district, the HHCEF was then able to donate them in turn to Brother’s Brother.
Brother’s Brother Foundation is a community organization focused on performing charity work and mission trips to benefit global health, education, infrastructure and disaster relief efforts, including the shipment of much-needed medication to Ukraine.
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Assistant Superintendent for Business Enrique Catalan personally covered the cost of shipping the devices through the foundation.
According to Catalan, it took three months to get the devices delivered to the school, due to conditions on the ground. When the laptops arrived, they were immediately put to use, according to a heartfelt letter sent to the district from the school:
We received the Chromebooks and are really thankful to you for them. They are of great help for us. Our teachers use them at the lessons of math, physics, history, foreign languages, nature, literature, and geography. Thank you very much for your great support.
Yours faithfully,
The principal, teachers and students of Buchach Gymnasia
Connections between the Buchatka School and the Hendrick Hudson School District may continue to grow, with the possible establishment of a pen pal program in the future.
“The HHCEF Board was thrilled to be able to assist in such an important humanitarian initiative,” said HHCEF Vice President Beth Gruber. “We commend Mr. Catalan for his efforts that were so critical in making this donation a reality.”
