Before retiring, Belen Consolidated Schools Superintendent Diane Vallejos, and BCS maintenance supervisor Pat Gallegos accept a donation of tables from GiveABQ Manager Anthony Montoya with the help of BCS maintenance staffer Mario Gonzales.
Julia M. Dendinger | News-Bulletin photo

BELEN—With many students doing learning at home remotely, the Belen Consolidated Schools is offering a way for them to create a learning environment at home.

Recently, GiveABQ — a part of Adelante Development Center — donated more than 50, 8-foot folding tables to BCS for families to check out to for at-home use during remote and hybrid learning.

Jill Beets, vice president of marketing and communications for Adelante Development Center, said GiveABQ began in January 2019 after the nonprofit received a $50,000 grant from PNM.

Known for it’s Adelante Bargain Square thrift stores, Beets said the company was often receive donations of large quantities of office or home furnishings, which while welcome were often hard to store.

“There would be a business closing or downsizing and want to donate 80 offices desks. We established GiveABQ and used the grant from PNM to secure a warehouse to store these types of donations,” Beets said. “Now we can partner with other nonprofits and organizations to provide these kinds of large items so they can spend their money on programming and services.”

Initially, partner organizations can receive a certain amount of items for free, she said, and then can purchase additional items using “give coins,” which organizations can earn by making a monetary donation or by volunteering time at GiveABQ. The organization currently has 100-plus nonprofits partners from across the state. The program is for nonprofit organizations, not individuals.

“This is a way to take large quantities of bigger items that might otherwise end up in a land fill and help other organizations,” Beets said.

The tables donated to BCS were donated to GiveABQ by the Army Corps of Engineers, she said.

The inventory for GiveABQ can be seen on its website — goadelante.org/giveabq — as well as information about donating to the program or receiving a donation from it.

If a BCS family is interested in checking out a table to create a learning space for their student at home, they can contact Claudia Jaramillo at 966-1709 to schedule a time to pick one up.

For more information about how to support ABQ Give or qualify for a donation from it, call 341-GIVE or visit goadelante.org/giveabq.

What’s your Reaction?
+1
0
+1
0
+1
0
+1
0
+1
0
+1
0

Julia M. Dendinger began working at the VCNB in 2006. She covers Valencia County government, Belen Consolidated Schools and the village of Bosque Farms. She is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists Rio Grande chapter’s board of directors.