Jim Lynch’s non-profit organization, CompuMentor, has a Web site called techsoup.com that assists organizations looking for used computers. People can navigate through the site to find organizations near them that refurbish computers in good condition and put them in the hands of people who can use them.
“If people have a working computer–5-years-old or newer–they’re pretty reusable for a school or non-profit or low-income family,” Lynch said.
In Chicago, Computers for Schools will refurbish computers made in 1996 or later with new operating systems and sell them for $150 to poor families and schools with a high percentage of poor students. The $150 covers the cost of refurbishing the machines, said Computers for Schools president Willie Cade.
Cade said some people have paid for the computers in spare change they’ve saved.
“Lots of people really want to take advantage of this,” Cade said. “The more systems we can provide to families.”
Giving computers to Goodwill or the Salvation Army isn’t usually a good idea, Lynch said, because they often don’t have the right tools to refurbish old computers. Instead it’s better to take your obsolete computer to an electronics recycling center.
