According to the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School system, there are approximately 500 families in our district that do not have Internet access. These households include thousands of children of all ages. Imagine if your children couldn’t research a topic online or even type a paper at home. The computer has gone from word processor to information portal.
This is why Kramden is so important to me – they are truly bridging the digital divide.
I have worked at computer award days at Rashkis Elementary, Frank Porter Graham and at community award events where hundreds of computers have been given to deserving families.
Your old computers that you call “junk” and don’t know what to do with can be donated to Kramden’s warehouse in Durham and go through a multi-step, volunteer-led refurbishing process. Hard drives are wiped and if any additional parts are needed such as additional memory, keyboards, mice, and monitors, they use parts donated by individuals and corporate sponsors such as Lenovo, Lab Corp, Synergy Recycling and other generous partners.
Kramden is a great example of how an entrepreneurial mindset can solve our most intractable problems. This public-private partnership has resulted in significant amount
s of e-waste being rescued from our landfills, jobs have been created, and computers have been awarded across 57 of North Carolina’s 100 counties.