Chelsea Public School Receives $25K In Donated Laptops

CHELSEA, NY — Technology giant Intel will donate $25,000 in computers and other tech equipment to a Chelsea Public school after sales associates at local electronics retailer B&H Photo won a grand prize in an annual contest organized by Intel.

Sales associates at B&H Photo, located at Ninth Avenue and West 34th Street, selected PS 33 Chelsea prep to receive 53 IntelCore processor-based Dell devices, a spokesman for the retailer said. B&H was one of 11 stores to win a grand prize through Intel's Annual Score competition out of a field that included more than 3,000 stores nationwide.

Intel's Annual Score competition works by awarding points to companies whose sales associates complete Intel and Dell sales training courses in a two-month span. Associates at B&H were awarded 175,841 points out of a maximum of 200,000. The longtime electronics retailer has operated in Hell's Kitchen since it was founded in the 1970s and is one of the largest independent electronics stores in the country.

"B&H is grateful for the opportunity to give back to the community we have been a part of for nearly half a century. Our sales associates are passionate about helping people – and this donation continues that commitment. I’m proud of our team and excited to see what these students do with this powerful technology," B&H Photo Chief Marketing Officer Jeffrey Gerstel said in a statement.

PS 33 Chelsea Prep is located about seven blocks away from B&H Photo's store. The pre-k through fifth grade school offers a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) focused curriculum, according to its website. School officials said the donation will go a long way toward replenishing the school's stock of laptops.

"As an elementary educational institute, we are always looking for opportunities to provide our staff and students with access to the technology they need to further facilitate learning... These laptops will get our school closer to the goal of equipping every staff and student with the tools they need to broaden digital learning and access computer science," PS 33 Principal Cindy Wang said in a statement.

Intel and Dell are donating a total of $500,000 in technology to schools across North America as part of this year's Annual Score competition, a company spokesperson said.