Donation– Technology Style

As the Holiday Season approaches, many start to think about helping others by donating or volunteering. One kind of donation that has a profound effect on the life of the recipients is technology. Donating a computer to a school or to needy children opens a world of information and knowledge otherwise inaccessible to them.

The Global Digital Divide
The Internet age has brought many conveniences to our lives, but has also left many behind who can't afford the technology. Schools in the developing world and even many in the U.S. can't offer students regular access to computers and the Internet. This lack of access deprives those children of learning and knowledge that could be gained from these technologies, resulting in their eventual disadvantage as adults compared to the rest of the population.

There are many initiatives and organizations around the world addressing this issue, both at local and global levels. Some such organizations solicit the help of world citizens to achieve their goals, and that's where you can help.

One Laptop per Child
"One Laptop per Child” (OLPC) is a U.S. non-profit organization missioned to developing and distributing simple, rugged laptops to schools and children the developing world. They were founded in Massachusetts in 2005, and have so far distributed about 1.5 million laptops to select schools in developing countries. You can donate to OLPC by purchasing one of their laptops through their website (http://laptop.org), which is then donated to the next eligible school on their list. Of course, your donation is tax deductible.

Your Old Computers
You can also help at the local level by donating your old computers to organizations that rebuild & refurbish them for use by underprivileged schools. This not only helps your local community, but it also helps reduce environmental waste through reuse.

One such organization is the Orange County Goodwill, which takes “e-waste” donations at certain drop off locations, refurbishes them and donates them to local schools and community. An interesting approach that Goodwill takes is that they use the repair and refurbish process as hands-on training for those who need it, which will in turn help them get jobs in the electronics repair field. You can learn more about the Orange County Goodwill and their donation locations at http://www.ocgoodwill-ewaste.org/. Your donations to them may also be tax deductible.

So as you plan your donations this Holiday Season, include a technology donation in the list!