 Meet Max, not just your everyday high school student. He’s an EMT, a chess tutor, an ultimate Frisbee player and coach, and most importantly for Laptop Upcycle, he’s a dedicated and passionate volunteer logging more than 700 hours the last 3 years. He’s amazing Max! Summer 2018 Max arrived, as many volunteers do, with little experience or expertise in refurbishing and repairing laptops. He started with wiping data, installing new software and testing laptops. Later moving on to refurbishing and learning about computer hardware, and started bringing donated laptops and accessories he collected from friends and family. Seeking bigger challenges He volunteered to set up and continues to operate an eBay store for the organization. To do that he learned coding for Google Sheets to make an inventory and sales tracking system for the Ebay store. Through the Lab’s store, Max has helped Laptop Upcycle raise funds to purchase the parts and pieces we need to refurbish donated laptops. As a result of his efforts, we’ve already recouped more than $3000 which has funded replacement batteries, chargers, hard drives and memory for our laptop donations that need a little help. Never one to rest on his laurels, Max took those lessons learned from the eBay store creation and also wrote an inventory tracking system for our Laptops. This is used daily to track the processing status and location of our donated laptops. Student volunteers grow the program Max exemplifies the Laptop Upcycle student volunteer model: teach some new skills and turn those skills into helping others in the community. According to Max, a self-described systems guy, “It’s cool and I get to solve puzzles figuring out technical issues. I get to choose the projects I like to work on and watch the shelves fill up with laptops that are ready to be handed out. I work with a rotating group of volunteers who are all great people including some Montclair High School friends who also volunteer, so it’s a safe, productive place to see them.” All this because of amazing Max! Become a Laptop Upcycle volunteer (any age) So if you have an interest in learning about hardware, inventory systems, refurbishing laptops, and hanging out with cool people--be like Max and spring into action! You don’t have to be a javascript expert or a high schooler, but your skills and energy are appreciated as a volunteer. Laptop Upcycle is a community-minded place to help others and really make a difference. Adults with a spring in their step are also needed to help us expand our reach and deliver on our mission to students both locally and beyond. If you want to make a positive difference like us, we want to hear from you. It's easy to Spring into action (no matter what season). Become a volunteer (no coding needed), or Donate laptops, or Donate money
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