The Panther Valley Elementary PTO has an ambitious project. It hopes to equip the elementary school with 120 laptop computers next school year.

Alesha Vermillion, PTO president, said the project is estimated to cost $28,000 to $30,000.Recently, McDonald's Restaurant in Nesquehoning gave a huge boost to the drive with a contribution of $5,238.Most of that money - $4,238 - came from McDonald's sale of french fries during December.Steve Kavlick, owner of the McDonald's, kicked off the campaign by donating $1,000 from the restaurant."Literally, I get dozens of fundraising requests a week," who owns seven McDonald's restaurants. "I started out my career as an owner of McDonald's in Nesquehoning in 1997. There's a place in my heart for Panther Valley."He said, "When I got the letter (from the PTO) and saw it was for elementary students and their mission, I said I wanted to get behind them and support them. So, I kicked off the fundraiser with my donation."McDonald's labeled the fundraiser "Show Local Education Some Lovin'." A dollar was given to the PTO from every medium order of french fries that was sold during December.Vermillion said the PTO realizes the school district is struggling financially and can't afford to purchase the computers.She said the fundraising effort started with about $15,000 the PTO had. Two fundraisers, including the one at McDonald's, raised that total of over $23,000.The funds will be used to buy Chromebooks (four carts of 30). The carts and the chargers must also be purchased."We hope to place the order by the end of the school year," said Stacy Zabroski, PTO treasurer.The elementary school consists of kindergarten through third grade.Kavlick said he feels connected to the anthracite heritage. His grandfather was a coal miner in Luzerne County. He died of black lung.Todd Sheckler, McDonald's Nesquehoning manager, said, "I feel good about the support we received from the community on this fundraising project. When the PTO approached us, Scott said we had to do this. We decided to do this for the whole month.""It's a great feeling to give back," he said. "These kids are our future employees."