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Ray Allen Donates New Computers To Hartford School

By VANESSA DE LA TORRE

February 24, 2012

HARTFORD —— Clark School students can thank Ray Allen for the gleaming new machinery in their media lab.

Through his Ray of Hope Foundation, the Boston Celtics guard and former UConn star has donated 30 computers, monitors and headsets, plus a SMART board. In addition, the lab is being repainted and all students in grades 5 to 8 will get their own USB flash drive.

Principal William Chambers said Friday that the computers have arrived and are being programmed. On Thursday, Allen plans to visit Clark during the school day to unveil the lab with Superintendent Christina Kishimoto.

"I know it will help us with our kids, academically," Chambers said. "Maybe Ray will have a correspondence with them during the season and after the season ... encourage them to write."

Before its reincarnation, the lab had computers that were too slow to run the latest software. The foundation considered several schools in the city's North End and concluded Clark would benefit the most, school spokesman David Medina said.

Allen's annual charity golf tournament in Cromwell last August raised money for his foundation's Computer Lab Program, which has already revamped two school computer labs in Boston.

"If the government is not going to put the money into education on the school side, then it's up to the people in the community," Allen said at the time.