Recycled computers helping local families

Program has more than a dozen

machines donated from residents
By:Sally Goldenberg
   More than a dozen needy families in the Hillsborough School District may be able to enjoy the Internet and computer programs, thanks to used computers donated to a project organized by the teachers union.
   The Hillsborough Education Association began collecting and donating used computers at the beginning of the year to families who do not own computers.
   HEA President Barbara Parker said social workers and teachers in the district have identified students who do not have computers at home through informal conversations with the students. The HEA then called the families to offer the computers after community members donated them to the HEA office.
   As of press time, the HEA received 17 computers, four printers and one scanner from parents and employees in Hillsborough and two families retrieved them. Ms. Parker said she expected three more computers by the week’s end.
   "I really didn’t know what to expect," Ms. Parker said, adding she was pleased with the turnout. "They were thrilled to be able to donate them to somebody who’s going to use them."
   But the HEA side office is now cluttered with computers. "So far we don’t have as many names as we have computers," Ms. Parker added.
   The charitable effort will continue indefinitely, she said.
   Hillsborough resident Carol Del Negro donated her daughter’s old computer after she recently replaced it. The computer was in good shape and it would have been a shame to throw it away, she said.
   "What does one do with a computer that still works but it’s a little slow?" Ms. Del Negro said.
   She was even able to donate it in its original boxes. "Being neurotic like we are, we happen to have all the old boxes in the basement," she added.
   The HEA has contacted high school students, who can use the Hillsborough public library or school’s computer lab — which have limited hours and space — if they do not have computers at home. Ms. Parker said she wants to extend the effort to the Hillsborough Middle School if the union receives enough computers.
   The HEA Children’s Philanthropic Fund, the charitable arm of the union, is conducting the drive.
   The fund operates on an annual budget of $20,000 and donates school supplies or the cost of field trips to students of impoverished families, Ms. Parker said.
   The HEA assumed families getting new computers for the holidays would be willing to donate, rather than throw away, their older computers, Ms. Parker explained.