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Computers for Those in Need - IndieGoGo, GAFer-made

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maxcriden

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You guys know Vanillalite, right?

Humble do-gooder who looks a little like this:

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Well, he's put together a pretty neat IndieGoGo campaign and I wanted to share it with y'all.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/computers-for-those-in-need

Basically, he wants to help get quality computers in the hands of those who need but can't afford them. A noble goal and one near and dear to a lot of GAFers' hearts I'd imagine. I'll let him take it from here....

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THE BIG IDEA

So as the go to guy for tech support from friends and family like many in my situations you got all kinds of questions. One of the most frequent questions though becomes "I want to get a new machine be it a desktop or a laptop, but what should I do with the old machine?" Inevitably that turns into "would you like my old machine?"

So this in turn got me thinking what can I do with all of this stuff? Sure you can recycle the old machines, but I kept thinking there has to be a better way. Why not re-purpose the machines for people or places in need like low income people, children, struggling college students ect..!
  • Take in old machines that are not being used or needed
  • Provide a service if needed to help people data migrate from their old device
  • Let them know I'll securely wipe their device so a worry free experience
  • Fix up and lean up the old machines and get them ready to give to people and places in need!

Not only will it help people get rid of their old machines in a meaningful way it could help stop the currently growing problem of the digital divide by providing more people with technology access through their own computer!
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PLACES THIS HAS WORKED

Now this idea has been put in to action in other major cities around the world. In particular Nonprofit Technology Resources or NTR in Philadelphia is a non profit I would like to eventually model myself after. You can check out their offerings over at NTRWEB.ORG and I even contacted them on some advice to get things rolling.

Friends have said they have seen the profound change an organization such as NTR has done in Philadelphia, and I plan to do the same thing in Augusta, GA.
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WHAT HE NEEDS

In general other than just getting people to donate old devices the main thing would be just a general fund to pull from in case I get low on certain parts that I can't re-purpose from multiple machines to create a working one. That plus just general working tools and my investment to getting the computers to the right people and places.

$1000 is a nice amount of money to start with though obviously the bigger the fund the faster I should be able to get devices out there vs waiting for other used machines with the working parts needed.

  • Parts and tools to get the operation of the ground
  • Costs for software and licenses that could be needed
  • Also money helps with the time, organization, gas, driving ect... that will be involved to pull this off.
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THE IMPACT

With so much current reliance on computers just to get through in our daily lives helping others get access can be huge. It gives people and places the means to stay at pace with the modern age.

Step up to the world and donate to my cause and together we can help stem the tide and provide access for as many people as possible!
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REWARDS

Amazon and Starbucks gift cards are in the offing for donors.

More details at the link:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/computers-for-those-in-need

BTW, console ports are a stretch goal. There will be a second campaign for English voice acting.

Okay, I think that's it. On behalf of Kev, thanks for checking out the IGG!
 
First off thanks Max. You didn't need to do this, and I hate to slum for donations.

Sectorseven said:
How much cheaper does this end up being than starting a fund for bulk buys of chrome books?
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Well Chromebooks are $200 a pop roughly for the Acer model. Ditto for the HP.

In theory if I got enough donations that I could mix and match parts this would be significantly cheaper other than my time to refurbish. Plus you would be putting old machines back to use vs the standard recycle for recycling sakes vs trashing.

I mean you could go the One Laptop Per Child route here, but depending upon what people donate you'd end up with something much better that is used (in theory) anyways.

PS: Obviously if I could talk to Page himself and get Chromebooks at cost or something that would be different! :P
 
I admire the ambition, I'm just trying to envision the practicality. I suppose it depends on how many people you anticipate on helping.

Desktops I imagine would be most plentiful, but are there an equal amount of monitors floating around? There are probably pallets of free CRTs sitting somewhere, but those are much harder to transport and store.

Most of these computers don't have warranties anymore and if a part fails a month from now, one of these families will be right back where they started. Now you have to make arrangements to fix or replace it.

Then you've got little things like cables and peripherals. A missing VGA cable here or there can quickly add up in cost or frustration. You could leave it up to the donatee to acquire them, however people that can't afford computers are likely not very tech savvy and you might end up having to walk them through setup and installation.

Laptops would solve the peripheral issue in theory, but used ones are going to be more challenging to refurbish, not to mention the cost of replacing the batteries.
 
Have you considered discussing this idea with local businesses in the area? Or bigger corporations? It's a pretty good idea and helps the local community. I'd also add the dimension of teaching teens how computers work and how to fix them.
 
Bboy AJ said:
Have you considered discussing this idea with local businesses in the area? Or bigger corporations? It's a pretty good idea and helps the local community. I'd also add the dimension of teaching teens how computers work and how to fix them.
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Likely need to be a 501(c)(3) or similar charitable organization so that the businesses get their tax credits.

edit: going to local chamber of commerce and discussing the idea would be a good move.

edit2: Get data on computer skills needed in area and present something along the lines of how STEM education yeilds the skills needed in local workforce.
 
Thanks Broggie and Audio for donating!!!

Partial Gamification said:
Likely need to be a 501(c)(3) or similar charitable organization so that the businesses get their tax credits.

edit: going to local chamber of commerce and discussing the idea would be a good move.

edit2: Get data on computer skills needed in area and present something along the lines of how STEM education yeilds the skills needed in local workforce.
Click to expand...

Yeah already talked with a friend in town as well as my brother who are both CPAs regarding this. Supposedly it wouldn't be that hard to do if this took off, but I would have to be extemely dilgent for tax purposes.
 
I support this idea wholeheartedly, if I had the money or hardware to spare I would do so in more valuable ways than just saying I do. I really wish I had the ability to contribute in a meaningful manner because I've been toying around with a similar idea for the last 8 - 9 years as well.

One of my long term goals (should say dreams really) is to setup a website that would provide a free yet utterly complete education in every field I could find content uploaders(teachers/professors) for. A full fledged certified alternative to traditional education that wouldn't be bound by some of the ridiculous dogma present in more traditional forms of education. Nor would it be bound by geographical location or financial means. But that does sort of require everyone to have access to computers, so that's why I personally hope this idea succeeds. Because the segregation of knowledge, credentials, and success in life between those who have the wealth to procure it and those who don't is one of the most disgusting things currently happening in our world.

Unfortunately my own idea also breaks down everytime I try to think of a feasible business model that doesn't rely on donations. Because I do want to reimburse the people providing the content because knowledge does have value. (I just don't think that value should be the root cause of exclusion from knowledge for large parts of the population.) I thought about ad supported for a while but that seems to subvert the entire idea of providing knowledge by providing endless amounts of pointless drivel that advertises stuff that half of my userbase wouldn't be able to afford.


Anyways I'm getting sidetracked, I love this idea, the only fear I have is that the bulk of these computers would end up in pawnshops.
 
Floating, that sounds like Coursera.
 
Bboy AJ said:
Floating, that sounds like Coursera.
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It does, but coursera is lacking imo. It doesn't provide complete education, it provides the equivalent of a demo, if that makes sense to you. You get a short course that is qualitatively reasonably alright, but falls super short on the content side of things. I honestly find coursera provides the equivalent of half of a 101 course for most subjects they tackle. You can't find employment because you did half of a 101 course in anything, and ultimately the education they provide ends up proving futile due to it's incomplete nature. The certification costing money is also pretty silly in my opinion, especially due to the lack of value a coursera certificate holds on any actual labor market.

I really don't want to sidetrack this thread more though. I might make my own thread to discuss this at some point in the future ;)
 
FloatingDivider said:
I support this idea wholeheartedly, if I had the money or hardware to spare I would do so in more valuable ways than just saying I do. I really wish I had the ability to contribute in a meaningful manner because I've been toying around with a similar idea for the last 8 - 9 years as well.

Anyways I'm getting sidetracked, I love this idea, the only fear I have is that the bulk of these computers would end up in pawnshops.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the support anyways, and as always even if you can't support personally sharing the campaign with people you know or on social media is a big help in itself!
 
Vanillalite said:
Thanks for the support anyways, and as always even if you can't support personally sharing the campaign with people you know or on social media is a big help in itself!
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Absolutely. If anyone can share this on social media it would be of great help to the campaign.
 
I actually tried to start something very similar years ago. My inexperience was its downfall, but I learned a lot & am still fond of the idea of refurbishing computers for the community.

Can't pitch in at the moment, but if you'd like someone to bounce ideas off of or discuss this with, drop me a line.
 
In Augusta? Get with Ft Gordon, I'm sure there's a unit there that could help out with that on some level. Depends on if all the commanders feel like their units are well utilized right now.
 
Actually gonna meet with someone on the hispanic council due to one of my best friends who is hispanic and has connections. Thinks they can point to some people who could use some of my returb stuff!
 
can't help financially, but the idea is great.

idea for cheap pcparts and monitors:

- most firms/corporations just throw everything away as soon as they get new tools/pc's.
get your charity known and ask the firms for there leftovers. maby they even will give you all their old stuff if your charity will pick it all up for free, so they don't have any costs and if i am right here they can get money from tax deduction. (dunno if corporations can do that.)

so in theory its a + + situation for your charity and for the corporations.
 
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