FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 21, 2020
SOUTH32 PROVIDES NOGALES AND RIO RICO SCHOOLS WITH FUNDS TO SUPPORT DISTANCE LEARNING
South32 today announced donations of $10,000 to Nogales schools and $10,000 Rio Rico schools in
Santa Cruz County, Arizona, to support distance learning during the State of Arizona school closures
resulting from COVID-19 precautions. The donations will be used toward the purchase of
Chromebooks to support distance learning through COVID-19 and for years to come.
Dr. Fernando Parra, Superintendent of the Nogales Unified School District, says his district is serving
over 5,600 students and working hard to provide distance learning, with the South32 donation funding the addition of 50 Chromebooks to the district’s technology inventory. The Chromebooks will be available for checkout by individual students but also available for future classroom use.
“These Chromebooks are essential for the academic achievement of our students,” he said in a letter
to the company, “providing teaching and learning opportunities and benefiting many of our students.”
Santa Cruz Valley Unified School District Assistant Superintendent Stephen Schadler told the
company his district had prioritized the Chromebooks for the high school students in Rio Rico due to
their graduation needs and credit requirements. “The timing and speed of distribution were essential to success,” he wrote, “and those devices are now already in the hands of students preparing to
graduate.”
“When we reached out to understand the community’s needs in response to the closures, the schools
were clear about what was important,” said Pat Risner, President of the South32 Hermosa Project
near Patagonia. “And it was clear that this was the right thing for our company to do. Learning should
not have to be sacrificed in these unprecedented times, and we are proud to help. The work educators
are doing matters so much to students right now, but it matters to all of us for generations to come.”
ENDS
About South32
South32 is a globally diversified mining and metals company. We produce bauxite, alumina, aluminium,
energy and metallurgical coal, manganese, nickel, silver, lead and zinc at our operations in Australia,
Southern Africa and South America. We are also the owner of the Hermosa Project a high-grade zinc,
lead and silver development option, and have several partnerships with junior explorers with a focus on base metals. Our purpose is to make a difference by developing natural resources, improving people’s lives now and for generations to come, and to be trusted by our owners and partners to realise the potential of their resources.
Media Relations
Jenny Fiore (Local)
T +1 520 419 7689
E Jenny.Fiore@south32.net
Jenny White (National)
T +44 7900 046 758
E Jenny.White@south32.net