Having access to technology can be life changing, especially in an increasingly digital world.
That’s the idea behind Guelph Tool Library’s Circular Computer Project, which sees volunteers collect donated laptops, refurbish them, wipe them clean of data and upgrade them to the most current operating system possible, then provide them to community agencies to give to people in need.
The program launched last October as an evolution of the group’s Good Call effort, which saw used cell phones refurbished and similarly distributed.
Since its start, the computer project has led to the refurbishment of 25 laptops which were given to community organizations to distribute to people in need.
“When we started, our goal was to target strictly businesses,” said John Dennis, project coordinator. “We thought particular businesses, engineering firms, accounting firms, people that use their computers at a high level, those folks change their laptops frequently, like, maybe every two to three years.”
There are about two million laptops sold in Canada every year, he said. In many cases, when they’re no longer being used, they’re put into storage or sent off for recycling.
“Often what happens (with recycling) is the laptop is going to get destroyed – it's going to get ripped apart for its parts. Whereas we're going to take your laptop and try to distribute it, as long as it's in reasonable shape,” Dennis said.
“We like laptops that are six years old or less and that are in somewhat working condition,” he explained. “If it has something like a missing key, no problem. If it fell to the bottom of a lake and you pull it up the next year, it’s probably not something we want.”
Dennis hopes to see twice as many donations made during this year’s collection drive, which runs throughout October. The goal is to collect 50, and they’re already just past the midway point.
“I'd love to get 500 laptops, quite frankly,” he said. “I know the demand is there. I know we can distribute them to people.”
In addition to CMHA WW, other agencies that distribute the refurbished laptops include Wyndham House, Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis and the Guelph Community Health Center.
Guelph Rotary Trillium has provided funding to cover the purchase of replacement parts needed for refurbishment, Dennis said, noting it cost about $1,000 for the program’s first year.
More information about the Circular Computer Project, which is part of a larger effort from multiple agencies aimed at ensuring equitable distribution of technology, can be found here.
Laptop donations can be dropped off at Guelph Tool Library, inside Olde Quebec Street Shoppes on Wyndham St. N.
