On May 4, 2021, Nick Deiuliis joined Pittsburgh Steeler legend and Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis to help close the digital divide at Sto-Rox High School. Through a recently formed partnership between Jerome Bettis’ Bus Stops Here Foundation, The Education Partnership and CNX Resources Corporation, Deiuliis and Bettis presented 50 Sto-Rox students with new Chromebooks.

“The natural gas and manufacturing industries are the lifeblood of southwestern Pennsylvania’s economy,” Deiuliis said. “We need to ensure our next generation has the skills to succeed in these good-paying industries after high school, and that starts with meeting essential needs, such as providing students with a working computer.”

The purchase of the Chromebooks was made possible from a generous $10,000 grant from CNX Resources to the Bus Stops Here Foundation and The Education Partnership for their joint Connecting Kids Program that launched in March 2020. The program has provided laptops or tablets to more than 1,500 Pittsburgh area students.

“While there’s much more work to do to support our region’s young people, especially those in disadvantaged communities, meeting with the Sto-Rox students and providing them with new Chromebooks was not only a great day, but an investment that will hopefully provide them and our region a better future,” Deiuliis added. “This type of targeted, local investment is how I and those I work with define social responsibility. By working with Jerome, as well as through our new mentorship Academy, I look forward to continuing to support our region’s high school students and giving them the physical and mental tools for a bright future.”

For more, click here for KDKA’s coverage of the May 4th event. And on Twitter, follow Nick at @NickDeiuliis, the Bus Stops Here Foundation at @BusStopsHereFdn, and the Education Partnership at @EduPartnership