‘GoFundMe’ Established to Buy Headsets for PUSD Students

A local church and the Pasadena Educational Foundation have teamed with the Pasadena Unified School District to set up an online fundraiser to help buy headsets for students living without quiet environments to do their schoolwork while working remotely.

The district has worked to provide laptop computers to all students, as well as internet access to students in need of it, according to PUSD Board of Education President Scott Phelps.

In addition to the challenges posed to students by distance learning, “many students in Pasadena do not have a quiet space to engage in their remote classes,” Phelps said in a letter to the PUSD community. “So even if students are able to use hotspots provided by the district, they may struggle to engage in their online classes.”

The Bahá’ís of Pasadena have reached out to the PUSD to ask what the organization could do to assist, Phelps said.

“Upon the recommendation of district staff as to how they can help, the Baha’is of Pasadena are fundraising to help provide headsets for a group of these students who are in foster care or in a homeless situation,” he said. “Baha’is believe in the paramount importance of education and hope this effort can help provide better access to online instruction for these students.”

“To help reach the goal, the Pasadena Educational Foundation has graciously agreed to match up to $2,500 raised through a GoFundMe account that we have set up,” according to Phelps

The funds will be used solely to buy Logitech H570e headsets, which cost about $50 each, officials said.

The online fund, accessible at https://www.gofundme.com/f/distance-learning-supplies-for-pasadena-students, had raised more than $2,200 in donations as of Tuesday.