We are excited to announce our latest partnership with Discover Financial Services to bridge the digital divide. Their decommissioned laptops are receiving a second life, helping to bridge the digital gap and contribute to a more sustainable world through PCs for People. Earlier this year, Discover began sending decommissioned laptops to the nonprofit, which has several sites across the country that are also near the company’s headquarters in suburban Chicago and its Customer Care Centers.
Vivian Allen has paid full price for laptops in the past. But when her personal computer broke as she dealt with the return of brain tumors, Allen couldn’t afford to spend a lot of money on a new one. A few months ago, she purchased a refurbished laptop from PCs for People, a national nonprofit that helps people with lower incomes get low-cost computers. The laptop has been especially helpful as Allen retrains her brain to remember things it has forgotten over the span of four brain surgeries. For example, she uses it regularly to retype her resume from memory to help her recall her previous jobs and the skills she has gained in her career. “That’s what’s helping me maintain my brain function,” said Allen, who lives in south suburban Chicago. “This is a very good organization, and it’s very needed by the community.”
Since its founding in 1998, PCs for People has refurbished and distributed 260,000 computers, in addition to connecting 92,000 households to the internet. The organization’s work to recycle equipment to advance digital equity comes as Pew Research Center data shows four in ten adults with lower incomes don’t have access to a desktop computer or laptop.
About 40% of its clientele have not had a computer before, with many customers looking to use the machines to search for jobs or use while in school. “If you don’t have access to a computer and the Internet, it’s very hard to advance professionally and economically,” said Loren Williams, regional account manager for the nonprofit. “Computers are a tool that everybody should have and the more we can collect, the more lives we can change.”
For donated equipment with hardware or software still installed, PCs for People follows a rigorous security process prescribed by the National Association of Information Destruction to wipe any data. PCs for People ultimately recycle equipment that is too damaged or old to be refurbished so it does not end up in a landfill.
The collaboration helps Discover Financial Services contribute to a more sustainable world while making an impact in the communities where we live and work. At the year’s end, Discover will get a report from the nonprofit that shows which zip codes the donated computers went to.
