MOSES LAKE — Big Bend Community College students forced to miss class because of sickness, injury or a family emergency, can now keep up with classes by using a laptop.

Weinstein Beverage owners Pat and Susan Weinstein applied for and received a $10,000 Pepsi Refresh Grant to buy eight Dell laptops compatible with the college’s standards and support systems. The laptop loans allow students to complete written assignments at home, or keep up with classes via long distance learning services provided by Big Bend.

“This gift of the laptops fits our effort to increase distance learning,” said Enedelia Nicholson, Big Bend Title V Grant coordinator. “Many of our students live in rural communities and don’t have computers in the home. Access to these laptops will help them succeed in their courses.”

Many students who don’t have a computer at home depend on college computers to complete assignments. Big Bend’s Student Support Services loans laptops paid for with a federal grant, but they are only available to students in the support services program.

“The laptops are a lifeline for our students,” said Jerry Workman, support services director. “They are checked out all the time, and sometimes the cupboard is bare.”

Support services helps out low-income, first-generation and disabled students. The laptop loaner program is an extension of the Weinstein’s Intervention Fund at Big Bend.

The Weinsteins want their gifts to help students cope with financial emergencies, keeping them in school and on track to a degree or certificate, they said.

The Weinsteins’ generosity helps with student persistence, retention and progress to a degree or certificate,” said Doug Sly, executive director of the Big Bend Community College Foundation. “These are all priorities of the college.”

For more information, call 509-793-2222.