Panther Valley Elementary students are going to have some upgraded technology resources when they return to school this year, and hungry valley residents deserve some thanks.

Members of the school's PTO recently purchased 125 Dell Chromebook 11 laptops, which will be used by each grade level at Panther Valley Elementary, culminating a yearlong fundraising effort from residents and businesses around the Panther Valley.A portion of the money came from a fundraiser where the Nesquehoning McDonald's donated $1 to the school for each medium fries sold.Starting next year, there will be four carts of 25 laptops available, one for each grade level at the elementary, K-3, as well as a fifth cart in the library for students in all grade levels."They'll not only hear the information, but see it, watch a movie on it. Hearing it and seeing a picture brings it to life," PTO member Jenn Maynard said.Before they embarked on the project, PTO members met with elementary teachers and asked what they could do to add to their technology resources within reason."At this point their exposure (to technology) was very limited," PTO member Alesha Vermillion said, recalling the personal finance classes she took in school."They won't need to know how to write a check, they need to know how to transfer funds on a computer."PTO members raised a total of $35,000 over the past year to make the purchase. They got donations from businesses in the Panther Valley such as Kovatch, BET Lehigh and Vermillion Dentistry."There are a lot of good people that support our area, that's what it comes down to," Maynard said.About $5,200 came from the McDonald's fundraiser. The owner of the restaurant suggested that the PTO apply to a McDonalds grant program. They did and got another $10,000.Vermillion said the PTO already raises thousands every year to fund students' field trips, so they were prepared to take on the challenge."It was an opportunity, and thank goodness we were able to find funds to help provide this," Maynard said.