“The Ripple Effects of an Act of Generosity”

A Laptops for KidZ Success Story

 Last summer Yarmouth’s International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) donated eight Dell computers to the Laptops for KidZ project of the Masonic Angel Foundation.  All of the machines were placed in schools within a week of IFAW’s donation.  Cape Cod Today provided exclusive coverage of the placement of these eight computers. 

Three of IFAW’s Dell laptops were placed at the Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School in Orleans.  Tuesday afternoon the MAF’s co-founder Robert Fellows was in touch with CCLCS Executive Director Paul Niles regarding some additional computers needed at the school.  In passing he asked about one of the children helped by the IFAW laptops last fall.  Below is the response Mr. Niles wrote to update the Laptops for KidZ volunteers on the progress of one particular child.  (For the sake of anonymity the child’s name was changed by Mr. Niles.) 

“David” is great kid. He is a real “boy’s boy”. He loves to run around the woods, build forts, take things apart and put them back together again. He probably knows more about the practical workings of nature and engineering than 99% of the other kids around him.

David’s life in the classroom is another matter. When we are building things or talking about nature, nobody can outshine David. But when the subject matter diverges beyond these areas of David’s natural expertise, he tends to shrink into the background like one of his favorite woodland creatures, camouflaging himself from a threatening and scary world.

It’s not that David has nothing to add when the topic moves beyond his natural passions. You see, David was born with serious learning challenges that make expressing himself a laborious task. When the topics are in David’s “sweet spots” he can find a way through his challenges and express himself well, but when the topics diverge from these, David typically goes mute.

In the not-so-distant past, David’s style would have been accommodated by the educational systems easily. He would have had an apprenticeship in a trade at an early age, and he would have become a master craftsman.

As David’s teachers in 2012, it is our job to give him a wider palette of tools to work with. Since the physical process of writing is difficult for David, we saw him as a strong candidate for a laptop from the Masonic Angel Foundation’s Laptops for KidZ project.

Since he has received this generous gift from the MAF, David’s written output from home has increased dramatically. The gap between his competent oral expression and previously labored written expression has narrowed. His homework completion rate is improved. His class participation has increased as well, since he comes into the class having completed his work.

As David has been pulled into more and more of the class discussions, his social relationships have improved. Other students can more easily see his strengths as his willingness and ability to express his views improves.

The ripple effects of an act of generosity are not always obvious on the surface. But it is clear to David’s teachers, and to his parents, and to his friends, that his positive integration into society has accelerated these past few months. And as a close observer responsible for David’s academic progress, I can’t thank the Masonic Angels enough.

Paul Niles, Executive Director
Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School
 

The Laptops for KidZ project was established by the Masonic Angel Foundation in April 2010.  It has refurbished and placed 239 computers since its launch.  LFK accepts donations of Windows laptops and select desktop computers.   Anyone wishing to make a tax deductible donation of a laptop may contact the Foundation at 508-255-8812 or email info@laptopsforkidZ.org .