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 Santa was kind to you this year, delivering a super fast computer with all the bells and whistles and a flat screen monitor. Now, what do you do with your old relic?
One answer is to consider donating your outdated machine. By donating your used computer you allow nonprofit organizations, lower income families and schools to obtain equipment that they otherwise could not afford.
Before donating, Troy Hicks of Pinehurst Computer Support recommends you clear the hard drive of all personal information. There are two ways to do this; you can run the restoration hardware that came with the computer or have the information professionally removed.
“It’s worth it,” Hicks says. “For an hour’s worth of labor — to have data cleaned off rather than donate it with your information — you’re protecting yourself by cleaning it off.”
He says most donation centers will take a computer if it’s not too old, which is typically five years or less. Hicks says when donating, start with people you know — churches, day cares or schools. If you’re not affiliated with any, he recommends contacting your local computer technician or service center for recommendations.
“It helps us if it comes all together,” says Coalition for Human Care Director Caroline Eddy.
This means a functional hard drive, monitor, keyboard and mouse. Printers are also needed, Eddy says. The Coalition for Human Care receives donations at its Southern Pines office from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. Tax receipts are available upon donation.
Eddy says the products are either re-sold to fund their mission or given to families with children who could benefit from a computer in the home. The Coalition for Human Care is a 20-year-old agency that provides money to aid in the purchase of heat, medications and other daily necessities.
“It’s a great community partnership,” Eddy says. “It is amazing the generosity of the community.
Goodwill Industries in Southern Pines will take only working computers. Donations can be made Monday-Friday, from 9 a.m.-8:30 p.m.; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, and from noon until 6 p.m. on Sunday. All donations are tax deductible, which is a welcome note with tax season bearing down.
The Habitat for Humanity Store in Aberdeen also welcomes tax deductible donations of working computers. The Habitat Moore Store is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Tuesday thru Saturday. Both nonprofits accept accessories, original software and instruction manuals. The computers are re-sold to benefit the agencies’ cause.
Jim Tagliareni, chief technology officer for the Moore County School System (MCSS) says MCSS continually seeks to expand the technology resources available to students and teachers and one of the ways is through donations. All donations should include the rights to the computer operating system. Permission granting MCSS the license for the operating systems should be offered in a letter from the donor to the school when the donation is delivered.
MCSS will only accept Compaq, Dell and IBM computers, and they must be business models, not home models. The minimum hardware standards for donations are: Intel Pentium III 500 MHz; 256 MB memory; 512 KB cache; 20 GB hard drive; 16-bit Sound Blaster compatible; input mouse and keyboard; 10.100 BASE-T Ethernet card; 17” SVGA monitor and Windows XP operating system. Donators can call the MCSS Office of Information Technology at (910) 947-2342, ext. 268 for more information.
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