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Give Us Your Tired 486s, Yearning To Be Free (to Kids)
Business New Haven speaks with Marie McFadden, founder and executive director of Computers 4 Kids, a non-profit organization that distributes reconditioned computers to technology-needy schools, communities and families
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Business New Haven
8/23/99
By: BNH
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Tell us about the history of Computers 4 Kids.
I started it in 1992, and it was started as a survey - a private charitable fund to distribute computers that were coming off of corporate desks. In 1995 we changed it from a private organization to a non-profit corporation, and with that we established a board of directors. Since we started in 1992, we've distributed about 6,500 refurbished computers, primarily in Connecticut. We distribute the computers with software on them. We target technology-needy schools and families that are associated with those schools, community centers and other educational organizations.
What is your organization's mission?
Computers 4 Kids is a non-profit organization whose mission is to help students of all ages acquire the technology and technology skills they need to succeed in the future by providing equitable access to technology resources in homes, schools and communities.
How does a home qualify for a computer?
We reach the homes through schools that we are building a relationship with, mostly urban schools. We send notices to the principals and the parent-teacher organizations, saying that parents who don't have computers can get them by contacting Computers 4 Kids. We distribute computers that have been refurbished with a whole suite of software for a minimal fee - $125 for a 486-type computer with a color monitor, a keyboard, a mouse and software.
Are there other organizations similar to yours?
There are some throughout the country. Although there is no national organization; they're sprinkled throughout different states. In Connecticut we're probably the only one.
How did you first become interested in working with children and technology?
I had a business selling computer equipment to large corporations, and I was also involved in my town's board of education. In 1992, when Connecticut was in the depths of recession, all of the budgets for technology acquisitions [in schools] were cut. I could see that there was going to be upgrade after upgrade of PCs. It seemed to me that there was a need for an interface organization that could work between the corporations and the schools to accept the donations, refurbish them, put them together, and then place them in the schools. So that was the idea behind it, because a lot of the donations were just bits and pieces, they weren't full working systems.
How do you see Connecticut in terms of student access to technology, especially in terms of equity?
There are many homes that do not have computers. If a child doesn't have any access to computers at home and only limited access at school, then they're really behind the eight ball. Before about a year and a half ago, Computers 4 Kids only gave out computers to schools; then we started giving out computers to homes for children who had little hope of having a computer at home, because that's where so much of the learning really occurs. We still give computers to schools, but we also focus on homes now.
Have you noticed any progress in children's access to technology?
Yes. As the cost of computers has dropped, I think that people who may not have been able to have a computer began to feel that it was something that they could acquire within their budget. And very frequently, they need to start someplace, and Computers 4 Kids offers a computer that has word-processing, spreadsheets, database, a drawing program, a calculator - all the basic applications that a student or parent might need. We don't supply any games, just standard applications. Most of the machines we distribute don't have CD-ROMs, because they came off of corporate desks.
What other programs are you involved with?
We also train students as PC technicians through the summer use program here at Computers 4 Kids. We train students to repair computers and to support the computers when they go out into the community. This summer we have students between the ages of 14 and 17. We are starting an after-school program in the fall that will be geared toward middle-school students. Students will be introduced to the computer, open up the computer, take it apart and rebuild it. They will also learn the different components and how they interact with the different operating systems and, if the funding comes through, be able to take home a computer. I'm also developing a program to get girls interested in technology by teaching them digital-imaging. We also teach enterprise skills, such as marketing and operations management.
Is there anything else you'd like to mention?
I'd like to let people know that we have computers available, and let businesses know that we need their support in order to do this. We're looking to take equipment that they don't really need or want anymore and make it meaningful by putting it back into the community.
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