Former MLB player launches fundraiser to get laptops for Federal Way students

KING COUNTY, Wash. — Former major league baseball player Gerald Smiley has launched a fundraiser to buy laptops for Federal Way students.

Students must have laptops to participate in remote learning, and the school district needs millions of dollars more to purchase enough computers.

Federal Way Superintendent Tammy Campbell said the district is the most ethnically diverse in Washington State.

“With that diversity there’s also some financial need,” Campbell said.

Now Smiley, who played in the MLB with the Texas Rangers, is stepping up to the plate.

“Being able to put these in their hands is a big thing,” he said. “What it looks like if you have to fill out an application and submit that to a college—or if you’re an athlete, how do you push your sports videos out to colleges around the country when scouts can’t fly out and see you?” he said.

Students whose families are struggling financially would be hardest hit, missing opportunities because they don’t have access to laptops and wifi hot spots.

Smiley said seeing different needs in the community inspired him to take action. He came up with the idea for a company called “Chip-In.” Similar to GoFundMe, Chip-In only does fundraisers for verified non-profits—and they do not take a cut of the amount raised. For this effort, 100% of money donated goes to the school district.

Smiley wants to raise $3 million, enough for 5,000 laptops.

“That was very surprising—the number. Those are the things we take for granted,” said Laura Colello, a Federal Way parent. She wanted to contribute even though her three children are not enrolled in the district. Her kids take classes remotely, so she knows how critical computers are, especially during the pandemic.

“We needed to make sure others had the same resources,” Collelo said.

Smiley said with the help of some MLB connections, plus a company in Redmond, they created the website. It is fully ready to take donations and direct them to the school district. Other features are still being added to the site.

“My background—growing up not having a lot of financial resources, the community came together to support me. I’ve had multiple coaches and people in the community help my brother and I become the people we are today,” Smiley said. “And (to) make sure we had a shot at being successful in life. I just feel like that’s my calling.”

Campbell said when she first heard about the fundraiser, she admittedly was a little suspicious.

“I at first was like, ‘hmm. I got to figure out what’s on the other side of that,’” Campbell said. She soon realized the effort was sincere.

“I was just excited. I thought, ‘this is the kind of thing we need here in our school district,’” she said.

Campbell said districts such as Seattle Public Schools have received large donations, for example, more than 8,000 laptops from Amazon, but Federal Way usually doesn’t get that kind of attention.

It’s something Smiley noticed, too.

“There are a lot of people moving to South King County, but the resources and the funding is not following,” he said.

The superintendent said with COVID cases spiking again, some form of remote learning will be certain this fall, though details will be up to the superintendent of public instruction and the governor.

“When I think about the laptop and internet access, I think of it as the lifeline to the school. Without it, you’re disconnected from the school and your teacher,” Campbell said.

To close that gap, Smiley is encouraging donors to contribute an hour’s worth of their wages, “to help these young men and women further their education.”

School starts Sept. 2 for Federal Way students.

Cox Media Group