Brooke Valley School (BVS) is an alternative private school for grades 1 through 8 celebrating 40 years as a parent-run cooperative. The school is blessed to be set on 5 acres of land in Lanark County, with open fields, hills, mixed forests, and a pond for science studies and ice skating, as well as one very special schoolhouse that is the centre of the community. BVS is a registered charitable non-profit and a community hub since incorporating in 1977. In addition to their primary function as an educational institution, BVS makes its building & surrounding grounds available for local community functions helping to foster the connections that represent the community as well as participating directly in many local endeavors.
Their priority is to provide a rich and expansive education for their children, where the love of learning and curiosity are the biggest goals. Students develop an appreciation for the arts, respect for the natural world, and self-awareness and compassion, in addition to the skills and knowledge needed to succeed academically.
Throughout the year, dedicated parents run the school, host fundraising events and continue to nurture the vision created by the original homesteading families, maintaining the values of community, sustainability, and the arts at the centre of the children’s education.
Brooke Valley School is extremely conscious of the environmental impact of e-waste. Their current computers date to 2000 and were donated to the school in 2005-2006. “We’ve done everything we can to keep them going, and will certainly re-purpose anything useful and recycle all else responsibly,” said Dennis Riggs.
When they reached out to the ERA for a donation to replace their near obsolete computers, we were happy to provide them with 4 laptops and 1 projector. BVS has a new teacher with a renewed focus on technology and this necessitates equipment which is simply outside the means of their annual budgeting.
The ERA works with charities, non-profits, schools, and care facilities across the country to provide refurbished electronics for their programs. This gives them access to reliable technology while allowing them to apply their resources to what they’re good at. If you are in need of a donation of IT equipment you can apply here. Help us on our mission by disposing of your unwanted devices with the ERA.