STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
MAX BALZER ’26:
BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
One RSGC student saw a need and decided to do something about it
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
MAX BALZER ’26:
BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
One RSGC student saw a need and decided to do something about it
BY LAUREN ALPERN
It’s not that common for a Grade 6 student to read the New York Times. It’s even less common for a Grade 6 student to take action after reading an article in the New York Times. But Max Balzer isn’t all that common…. After reading about Allia Phillips, a 10-year-old homeless honours student in New York City who lives in a shelter with her mother and grandmother, Max realized that Allia is just one of many children who is eager to learn, but has no access to the Internet. “Allia and her mother described their way of living in such a raw way, and it got to me. I just couldn’t handle it anymore. It was such a raw representation of how people like that live – really not being able to enjoy the luxuries that we enjoy, like devices for digital learning,” said Max, who has been doing distance learning from home since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. “I just didn’t have such an appreciation for it before and it made me understand it in a way that I hadn’t before.” According to Max’s mother, Sarah, Max was extremely upset and bothered by Allia’s story.
“He got very upset, and kept talking about how unfair it seemed. I finally told him to take all of this emotion and do something about it,” said Sarah, whose younger son Conrad is in the Class of 2028. “It’s an extension of the belief of filling a need. If you see a piece of trash on the ground, pick it up. If you see someone struggling with the door, open it for them. If you see a need, do something about it. It’s so easy for us to move on from things in regular life, but right now, we actually have time to explore things that maybe we wouldn’t have time for when our lives are busier.” Max decided to do what he could. He started collecting old iPads and laptops to distribute to kids living in shelters who are distance learning, but do not have devices. He chose the Red Door Family Shelter and Birkdale Residences. “I did quite a bit of research to find family shelters in Toronto in need of help or just in need, and those two spoke to me in a way that the others didn’t,” said Max, who spends about an hour a day on emails for the initiative that he would love to name Allia’s iPads. “I wanted to find shelters that had demand for these devices.”
And so it began. With help from Sarah, Max started getting the word out that he was looking for old devices. He collected 22 in 20 days and did the first delivery almost immediately, bringing half to Red Door and half to Birkdale. And while the pandemic hasn’t allowed for Max to see first-hand how the children are using the devices, feedback has been extremely positive.
“They’ve been very appreciative. We’ve been getting emails from the staff that the kids have really been enjoying them and that they’ve really been helping their education,” said Max. “It’s so great to hear.” Sarah, who has been helping not only by getting the word out about the call for donations, but also by acting as the delivery driver, says that for Max, it has been a very eye-opening experience to actually go to the shelters and drop off the devices. “This inequity in life has caused him a lot of distress, but he has had to face his fear to go and take them in,” said Sarah, who says that Max is very compassionate by nature. “The first delivery, he just handed it in at the door. The second drop off was easier. He was able to go in and see some of the residences, and see a very different way of life for a lot of people.” Max’s father, Thomas, agrees with Sarah that the experience has been game-changing for their son. “I’m proud of Max – what he’s doing is great and it has merit, but just going out to do the drop-off at a homeless shelter exposes somebody like Max to things that he doesn’t normally see in the regular course of his life,” said Thomas. “I hope it will have a lasting impact on him.” Thomas has also been involved in the initiative, acting as both emotional and technical support. His role has largely been getting the devices in healthy enough shape to be donated. He, like Sarah, is impressed that Max was able to bring the idea to fruition. “He took an emotionally impactful thing and translated it into an action where he can have an impact on somebody’s life. It’s a really satisfying thing to see,” said Thomas. “I’m so pleased that he took his feeling of guilt or unfairness and turned it into a feeling of ‘I can do something about it’.” While the work is not done, Max is happy about the uptake so far and will keep going if they reach their goal of having devices for every child in the shelters. “If we reach our goal, we’ll just keep going and see who else we can help,” said Max.
