Foot Levelers donates 150 laptops to its local public school system

November   8,   2017—Foot   Levelers   recently   donated   150   laptops   to   the   Roanoke   City   Public   School   System.   The   school   district   educates   13,800   students   in   the   area,   with   many   children   in   need.   The   high-­quality   machines   will   be   in   students’   hands   as   early   as   November   8th.   Founded  in  Dubuque,  Iowa  in  1952,  Foot  Levelers  has  called  Roanoke  “home”  since  1988.

“We’re   both   honored   and   humbled   to   give   back   to   our   community   in   this   way,”   says  Foot   Levelers  Senior   Vice   President   Steve   Stone.   “Many   of   our   employees   have   children   in   the   Roanoke   School   System,   or   are   products   of   the   school   system   themselves—in   fact,   I   am   a  proud   graduate   of   Roanoke   City   Public   Schools’   Gibboney   Technical   Center.   So   we   know   how   hard   the   teachers  and  administrators  work  to  prepare  children  for  success  in  the  digital  age,  and  we  hope  this   donation  supports  that  incredible  work.  Kudos  to  team  members  Karen  Anderson  in  Purchasing  and   Brian  Boggs  and  Lamont  Clements  in  I.T.  who  were  instrumental  in  making  this  happen.”  

School  district  reps  were  delighted  by  the  donation.  “Just  wow!”  said  Roanoke   City   Public  Schools   Director   of   Technology   Mark   Thompson.   “That   was   extremely   generous.   These   were   newer   computers   and   so   we  thought,  ‘this   is   a  great   opportunity   and  we   can’t   pass   it   up.’”  He  added:  “We   keep  very  close  numbers  on  our  student  to  computer  ratio,  so  we’re  going  to  look  at  the  schools  who   have  the  greatest  need  and  then  we’ll  be  working  with  them  to  get  these  computers  in  [the  students’]   hands.”

Foot   Levelers   has   long   been   philanthropic   in   its   community.   In   May,   the   company    kicked   off   an   unprecedented  partnership  with  Roanoke’s  Fire-­EMS,  providing  165  of  the  Star  City’s  first  responders   with   custom   orthotics.   Foot   Levelers   is   also   the   title   sponsor   of   the   Foot   Levelers   Blue   Ridge   Marathon,   the   world-­famous   “toughest   road   marathon”   that   runs   along   the   stunning   Blue   Ridge   Parkway,   with   proceeds   benefitting   local   charities.  In   2016,  the   marathon   generated   more   than

$592,000  for  the  local  economy;;  over  the  past  seven  years,  it  has  added  more  than  $3.2  million.

Source: Foot Levelers