James Kim Fund to Benefit Schools

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Lauren Barack -- School Library Journal, 1/7/2008 10:32:00 AM

San Francisco K–12 students may soon benefit from a foundation set up to honor James Kim, a CNET editor who died from hypothermia after trying to rescue his wife Kati and their two young daughters in Oregon in December 2006.

Launched last February, the James Kim Technology Foundation is soliciting donations on its Web site with plans to outfit city elementary schools with computer labs, hardware, and support related to integrating technology in classrooms, according to the site. For high schools, the nonprofit is targeting inner-city public schools and plans to link students with internships at technology companies in their local area.

Unfortunately for educators outside of San Francisco, the Foundation plans to focus primarily on this city, according to an online interview with Kati Kim, a former public high school teacher.

Kim’s body was found in early December 2006 after he attempted to to find help for his family, when their station wagon became stranded in the snow for more than a week in a remote area of southwestern Oregon.

Kim, who had worked as a senior editor for CNET, and cohosted a gadgets podcast, also had an interest in improving access for public school students to technology, according to the Foundation’s Web site.

The site does not currently indicate how schools can sign up for the grants, nor provide any updates on the foundation. However donations are being collected at the same address as the Church Street Apothecary, a retail store started by the Kims in San Francisco. E-mails to the Kim family and to CNET were not returned.