Earth Day megasuccess for Tech ReConnect
BY CHRISSY ALSPAUGH calspaugh@therepublic.com
Tech ReConnect WHAT: Connected Community Partnership offers free reconditioned computers to Bartholomew County students through its Tech ReConnect program. APPLY OR DONATE: Those interested in applying for or donating a computer should visit the nonprofit. WHERE: 1525 14th St. HOURS: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday or by appointment. INFORMATION: 314-2730. Tech ReConnect took in more than 150 old computers and related components Wednesday as part of an Earth Day recycling event. “The biggest thing is raising awareness that there’s an alternative to sending these things to the landfill,” said Kat Wallace, volunteer resource manager. Connected Community Partnership accepts and refurbishes everything from unwanted central processing units to keyboards. The program then distributes complete computer set-ups to families who otherwise could not afford them. To receive a computer, at least one Bartholomew County family member must be enrolled in a school or educational program. Kindergarteners through nontraditional adult students can qualify. Wallace said since July, Tech ReConnect has placed 508 computers in local homes. Avoiding the landfill Wallace said Cummins Inc. collected old computers and played a large role in Wednesday’s recycling event. Individuals trickled in throughout the day as well, donating computers, monitors, speakers, scanners and more. Many working items that cannot be given to students will remain on a free, “Come and Get It” table at Tech ReConnect, Wallace said. Other usable equipment goes to Bartholomew County Solid Waste Management District, said Director Jim Murray. Nonworking, unusable electronic parts are recycled through Chesapeake Recycling in Winamac, he said. “They give us a written pledge of no landfilling,” Murray said. Sally Jamerson, vice president at United Way, on Wednesday donated a computer, monitor
and scanner that had been sitting around the office. Jamerson said she had been hoping for an alternative to throwing the items in the trash, when she remembered Tech ReConnect donated computers to her agency to help with flood recovery. “It’s a great cost savings to recipients and just a great program,” she said. “It’s cliché to say Earth Day should be every day, but Tech ReConnect gets us closer to that because it’s not just a oneday event.” In need of volunteers Wallace said the nonprofit operates solely with volunteers and needs people to help with everything from office work to computer programming. Individuals of all skill levels are needed, she said, and hands-on training will be provided. “Even people who know nothing about computers can volunteer. If the most you’ve ever done is turned on the power button, you can still help,” Wallace said with a laugh. Tech ReConnect also, of course, is in need of donated computer equipment, she said. “The bottom line is that the more we receive, the more that stays out of the landfill, and the more families we can help.”
JOEL PHILIPPSEN | THE REPUBLIC Volunteer Chris Geerts takes a donated computer apart Wednesday morning at TRC, which takes donations of used computers and refurbishes them for students.
