Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg and his wife Priscilla Chan have decided to donate $120 million to local public schools, making it the largest allocation of the $1.1 billion the couple gave to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation last year.
The first $5 million of the donation will be given to schools districts in San Francisco and surrounding areas. The money will help prepare 8th graders for the transition to high school and to train principles on how to improve their performance. The money will also be used to bring in better technology to the schools, Fox News noted.
According to The New York Daily News, Chan, in an interview with NBC’s Today, stated her concern for a neighboring school district and hopes that she and Zuckerburg can help the underprivileged students. “We live in Palo Alto, which has, fortunately, one of the greatest school districts in the country. But right next door, actually within walking distance of our home, is East Palo Alto that has a K-8 system that has a lot of unmet needs that the public school district is struggling to make up the difference for at this time”, she said.
The couple has a big heart for children and serving others and have started their own foundation to improve education called “Startup: Education.” The couple also believes that in order to be effective at philanthropy, you have to get experience first. In order to achieve this Chan has taught science to 4th and 5th graders at a private school and Zuckerburg has taught entrepreneurship during an after-school program.
The couple’s goals for serving others also goes beyond education. The couple also seeks to improve health, reform immigration policies, and to connect those who still have no access to internet. Zuckerburg hopes to give internet access to at least 70 percent of the 7 billion people in the world without it.