Gifted: Miami Charter Mater Academy of International Studies Receives Donated Laptops

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Students at Mater Academy of International Studies received a very big gift Wednesday.

Courtesy of DHL, one of the world's largest logistics and shipping companies, 40 refurbished, free laptops were hand-delivered to students.

It made for a busy morning, full of promise for 6th graders like Dorothy Jolon.

"We can use it for math, we can use it for science we can also use these laptops for reading which is really great," she said.

For another 6th grader, it changes everything.

"It's amazing because I've been in this school since I was in Kinder from a cub to a tiger and all those years only most of the big kids, they had the computers," said Diego Rivas.

Michael Taylor, Director of Public Sector Compliance and Governance at DHL Express says it's part of the company's initiative called "DHL Helping for Learners, the company upgrades it's own computers and technology frequently so then came the question what to do with all those good but used laptops. The answer? Donate them.

"Repurpose it vs disposing of it, why because it's the world we live in they are our next generation," said Taylor.

This was just the initial shipment, the company came with another surprise upgrade, promising a total of 300 laptops to come, meaning access for nearly every student in the school.

"They give us the ability for every student, every person in this school to learn more," said Diego Rivas.

There were several schools chosen around the world to receive the laptop donation, Mater Academy of International Studies was the only school in Miami to receive them, before the donation the school had just 20 laptop computers.