The Atlanta-based owner of the New York Stock Exchange donated $1.3 million to provide laptops and internet access to local students.
Atlanta Public Schools on Thursday announced the major gift from Intercontinental Exchange, or ICE, which operates financial marketplaces and whose chairman and chief executive officer is the husband of Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler.
ICE on Thursday also reported big gains amid surging trading volumes and financial uncertainty.
The $1.3 million donation will support the Atlanta school district’s “Get our Kids Connected” campaign, launched in tandem with Comcast.
The district has been raising money to pay for laptops and high-speed internet service for students who do not have that technology. Officials have stressed the need for students to be able to do school work from home after school buildings closed amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The fundraising drive will allow students to receive and keep a laptop and get more than a year of internet access.
“In these extraordinary times, when we'd expect kids in our communities to be studying hard in their classrooms, we recognize that in so many cases the home is the classroom, and homes need high speed connectivity and equipment to thrive through distance learning,” said Brookly McLaughlin, senior director of corporate affairs and sustainability for Intercontinental Exchange, in a written statement.
The district reported earlier this month that the campaign had already raised $350,000. Separately, the district received about $2.2 million to pay for laptops, iPads and other technology as part of a federal grant announced this week.
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