BANK GIVES 1,000 PCS TO SCHOOLS.Byline: Bhavna Mistry Staff Writer SANTA CLARITA Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, - Washington Mutual “WaMu” redirects here. For the Washington, DC radio station, see WAMU. Washington Mutual (or WaMu; NYSE: WM) is the United States' largest savings and loan association. Bank has donated 1,000 IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) Pentium computers to distribute among all 47 schools in the Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. . The 2-year-old computers, valued at $150,000, have become surplus stock because of Washington Mutual's recent mergers with American Savings Bank savings bank, financial institution that, until recently, performed only the following functions: receiving savings deposits of individuals, investing them, and providing a modest return to its depositors in the form of interest. , Great Western Bank and Ahmanson Home Savings of America. Half the computers were delivered Thursday; the rest will arrive in the spring. ``We donate the computers so the schools can use their funds for staffing and training,'' said Katherine Hage, financial center manager at the bank's Canyon Square Office, one of six branches in the Santa Clarita Valley. ``It allows us to make sure the schools are benefiting. In 1999, Washington Mutual donated more than $1.5 million in computers to schools throughout California, Florida and the Pacific Northwest as part of its education outreach Education outreach is a variation of Cause Marketing and/or Strategic Philanthropy and other focused Public Affairs activities that are specific to education. These programs may include:
Employees from local branches already are involved with local schools, Hage said. They volunteer their time in the classroom, present lectures on banking and savings programs, and have set up banking programs for various classes. The $150,000 donation comes through a partnership with the Santa Clarita Valley School Business Alliance, which was created from a federal grant received by the William S William, crown prince of Germany William or Frederick William, 1882–1951, crown prince of Germany, son of William II. In World War I he commanded (1914) an army on the Western Front and was nominal commander in the German attack . Hart Union High School District. A group of community leaders will determine how the computers will be distributed, said Denice Cantillon, associate director of the alliance. ``Initially, we're asking the schools to show a need for 10 computers. We're hoping to assist the most needy schools,'' she said. Cantillon said the idea for the donation sprouted during a summer visit to Aerospace Dynamics Inc., part of a weeklong workshop in which teachers learned first-hand how businesses operate. While waiting to make a presentation, Cantillon struck up a conversation about the dire need for computers in local schools. The man put her in contact with Washington Mutual. Initially, computers were set aside only for the Hart District, but organizers eventually decided a donation to the alliance would better serve the community. ``We're really the only group that serves all the schools in the valley,'' said Cantillon. ``It made better sense.'' The alliance was formed last year to help prepare students for careers in business. ``The idea is to infuse in·fuse v. 1. To steep or soak without boiling in order to extract soluble elements or active principles. 2. To introduce a solution into the body through a vein for therapeutic purposes. more career activities,'' said Cantillon. ``The entire time our students are in school we want them (to have) the most rigorous academics and the most relevant application to potential careers.'' |
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