First Time Computers

Donations of used computers and related equipment typically come from law firms, trade associations, non-profits, and families with old computers they wish to put to good use. We wipe the hard drive clean, reload basic software, and complete repairs and updates as needed. By the time we complete work on a computer, all of its basic functions have been thoroughly tested. All computers are Internet ready. If a computer cannot be refurbished or is too old, we salvage re-usable parts and dispose of what remains in accordance with Environmental Protection Agency guidelines.

In deciding who gets our computers, we give priority to non-profits with programs for low-income children and youth that need computers for the programs they run. Included here are partner organizations such as Byte Back in northeast DC that provide our computers to graduates of courses in computer use, and a number of child care and after care programs serving children from age 3 to 12. Some non-profits use our computers for programs they run on site. Others pass them through to families in need. We provide the remaining computers to families on our waiting list. We screen prospective recipients primarily by ward and zip code, focusing on neighborhoods with the most intense poverty. Laptops are reserved for low income students entering a college or university. We suggest to recipients that they make a small donation for a computer. Though most recipients pick up their computers at our shop, we deliver many systems directly to homes and organizations. We walk the recipients through setting up the system and, to the extent needed, provide the basics on computer use. We run recipients through a guide that describes options for Internet access, and ways to keep their new computers running well, including how to deal with spyware and viruses. We repair computers we have donated. If we cannot fix a computer, we replace it.

In 2006 we launched a Training Program to help at-risk youth learn computer refurbishing skills. We defined a dozen skill areas and ran afternoon sessions three times a week for 10 weeks in the summer of 2006. We gave participants $5 per session to cover Metro fares. Of the eight who completed the training, we hired four. Since then we have run several more 10-12 week courses, including one for adults, and hired additional graduates. In 2008 we launched a major upgrade of the training program. We now have a Director of Training and dedicated space for the training. We plan to add a track for the widely recognized A+ Information Technology Certificate and to develop ways of connecting graduates with other employers in need of entry-level computer techs.

From the beginning five years ago, we have provided computers and services to small, community-based non-profits in the DC area, more than 50 to date. We have formal agreements with several. For example, we work with Byte Back, Inc., an organization in northeast DC that trains low-income youth and adults how to use computers [First Time Computers offers training in refurbishing computers, but not in how to use them]. Under our agreement with Byte Back, we provide a computer system to those who successfully complete a Byte Back training course. In 2008 we decided to formalize our assistance to non-profits and to name it our Community Technology Program, with emphasis on building the programs and organizational capacity of community based non-profits east of the Anacostia River.

We also run intern and summer jobs programs to draw young people into our program and to expand their horizons.

In the future will seek to build the educational impacts of our core program, Computers for Low-Income Kids [CLIK]. We plan to add educational programs to our standard software package. We also plan to expand the orientation we offer to computer recipients to include a hands-on exploration of new educational software offerings. The goal will be to turn our computer systems into "home learning centers," building on an approach initially developed by Computers for Youth, a similar program in New York City.

Drawing on the experience of OTX-West, the Oakland Technology Exchange - West, a California program begun in 1991 that provides refurbished computers to low-income recipients, we plan to develop a "Stories" program - short autobiographical videos created by at-risk youth about their own lives that can be put up on sites like You Tube, Facebook and MySpace. OTX-West runs other programs that can serve as models for First Time Computers. It offers a brief hands-on training course for those receiving an OTX-West computer. The training, conducted in a dedicated computer lab, introduces the software programs installed by OTX on computers, how to be creative with them, and how to avoid problems with popups and viruses. OTX also makes it possible for prospective computer recipients to earn their computers by volunteering at such tasks as cleaning monitors and keyboards. For each hour of volunteering, OTX pays the volunteer a "service buck." It takes 60 service bucks for a volunteer to get a "Base Premium" Pentium 4 computer with a 40 gigabyte hard drive, 512 megabytes of RAM and wireless Internet.

Because the needs are so great, and because used computers are generally abundant, we believe strongly in supporting groups starting similar programs in the Washington, DC area and elsewhere.. To date, we have assisted three other groups developing similar programs in the DC area. We plan to develop a set of "how to" materials to individuals and organizations both within and outside the Washington DC area planning to start similar programs.

We plan to develop a means of surveying computer recipients to assess how well our refurbished computers do in the real world, to check on how these computers might be made more useful, and to seek general feedback from recipients. We also hope to survey recipients on how they actually use the computers we provide, and to collect examples of how our computers have helped recipients with their school work. This information will make it possible for us to evaluate our programs and make improvements. Ideally, some time down the road, we would develop a research tool that will enable us to tell whether children in families with our computers fare any better in school and in the longer term than comparable children in families without access to computers in their homes.

We also plan to offer community service opportunities for students from area schools, colleges, and directly from the low-income communities we serve. If funds are available, we will pay interns a stipend to cover their expenses. Students will learn by being paired up with our paid staff, and by working closely with them on all aspects of preparing computers for delivery.