Former 'Occupy' Member's Newest Activism: Tablet Computers For Philly Schoolkids
By Mike DeNardo
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Some students at a Philadelphia high school have new Kindle Fires to use. And these tablets are coming from an untraditional source.
Students at South Philadelphia High were presented with 25 Kindle Fire HDs, donated by "Professionals for Progress," a group co-founded by Emmanuel Bussie, a one-time "Occupy" demonstrator who now works for a major financial institution.
These days Bussie encourages professionals to provide resources to schools.
"What I'm doing now is now elevating it even further," he said today. "So I'm not just raising my voice, I'm raising some money."
Fundraising events have yielded $12,000 so far. The "Kindles 4 Kids" program has already given tablets to Parkway Center City High School. Overbrook, Northeast, and Ben Franklin are next on the list.
Philadelphia schools superintendent William Hite says the Kindle Fires will provide an upgrade in the classroom.
"This suite of tools could be very useful as a replacement to textbooks that children use currently. Or for other things, particularly, with access to information," Hite said.
One of the goals of the "Kindles 4 Kids" program is to make the Philadelphia school curriculum entirely paperless. That may be a long way off, but in the meantime students are hoping these tablets will help their education catch fire.