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MIke and his team have been busy in the lab. Read about us here in this month's issue of My Suburban Essex!   Have you thought about how Laptop Upcycle gets So. Many. Laptops? Individual donations from generous and thoughtful community members are important (please keep ‘em coming) but there’s a reuse “pipeline” that contributes quite a bit. Companies like Essence Global Advertising, BCG, Celonis and Pfizer choose to donate their laptops when they’re “retired” and we’re exceedingly grateful for their support of our underprivileged students. Companies, from Tier 1 to small businesses, make up a significant IT equipment repurposing cycle. As computer equipment such as laptops, desktops, servers, tablets, etc. (termed collectively as “IT assets”) are no longer needed, there is a nationwide reseller industry that evaluates them (called “grading”) for any retained value and remarkets them. Not only is this a green initiative but there is almost always a market for a functioning computer somewhere.  At Laptop Upcycle, we are working to get the attention of corporations and resellers to create a larger laptop inventory feed so that we can continue to expand our program. That’s why we were so pleased when Doug Green of Telecom Reseller invited us to be on his weekly podcast that showcases news for the corporate IT asset reseller market.  Sarah Damaskos, a Laptop Upcycle co-founder and board member, sat down (virtually) to tell the excellent historical and current view of Laptop Upcycle. She also noted the impact of the program, our intentionally-anonymous relationships with individual kids in need, and most importantly, our local approach.
We’d like to thank Telecom Reseller for giving us the airtime to outline Laptop Upcycle’s growth mission in understandable terms that provides listeners a way to help. If you know a company -- perhaps yours? -- that’s planning an IT refresh and would like to donate their laptops for PR benefits, tax benefits and big-hearted benefits we want to talk to them! Did we mention benefits? Thanks for reading, thanks for listening (our first podcast – woo hoo) and thanks for supporting us!  This Christmas (or whatever holiday you celebrate) Laptop Upcycle wants to put a laptop under the trees of students in need. Laptop Santa knows that students who have their own laptops for school, projects, personalization, ownership and accountability -- use them and succeed! Throughout December we'd like your help to brighten the Holiday Season for a local student who cannot afford a laptop for school.
If you know of a middle or high school student who could use a laptop and can't afford it, let us know. Our elves are standing by to deliver a refurbished and wrapped laptop that's ready to go under the tree. You can help! 1) Identify students who would benefit and appreciate a holiday gift of a laptop by filling in this short form. 2) Donate a laptop (used or new) 3) Donate funds to support this program! If you have any questions or would like to suggest a partnership or idea, send us an email at giveget@laptopupcycle.org. Deadline: Dec 22, 2021 Thank you for being a "giver" this holiday season and giving a student in need a laptop to succeed. In the past 5 years Laptop Upcycle has given out over 1000 laptops to low income and special needs students. We'd like to end this year with a mighty Ho ho ho! The Laptop Upcycle elves  We’ve got big, big news! Laptop Upcycle is branching out by rolling out a partnership with Ramapo College of New Jersey! The mission remains the same: eliminating obstacles to ensure students have the tools they need to succeed in their academic careers. Dr. Susan Gaulden, Interim Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs at Ramapo College, says, “We are truly excited about and committed to our partnership with Laptop Upcycle, as the initiative will ensure our students are able to secure the technology they need in order to have the best possible academic experience and the greatest chance of academic success.” Kicking off “Laptop Upcycle @ Ramapo” is a drive to solicit donations of used, working laptops. The entire program is student-oriented and student-driven: Ramapo Social Work students are helping to organize operations of the program and trained Student Assistants will make repairs and refurbishments. Read the Ramapo College's press release Visit the Laptop Upcycle @ Ramapo webpage Support Laptop Upcycle @ Ramapo’s Fall 2021 Donation Drive (Nov. 16, 18, 19) Locally, everything works the same. If you have a laptop to donate here in Montclair or nearby, just start an equipment donation here and we will set up an easy pickup or drop off (Or, consider a monetary donation to Laptop Upcycle to help us expand our program locally and regionally.) And our student intern program in the Lab continues to meet on Tuesdays and Sundays. Join the Laptop Upcycle Lab Facebook group to stay up to date or grab a spot for a lab session here.
Please join the Laptop Upcycle Board in welcoming Ramapo College to the Laptop Upcycle family! We could not be more thrilled about this new partnership.  This week we draw focus on a couple of corporate partners, Laptop Legends, who have made repeat and significant donations to us.
First, we welcome the Boston Consulting Group in Summit, NJ as our newest Laptop Legend. They have now made three significant donations of their lightly used laptops to Laptop Upcycle. It would have been easy for them to simply ship them to a bulk recycling shop, but instead they chose us! Our student volunteers wipe the drives with industry approved software and renovate the laptops for other local students. For those laptops that may be damaged, our team mixes and matches the components to make working systems and we responsibly recycle the rest. A heartfelt thank you to The Boston Consulting Group! Is your company currently holding a storage closet full of laptops or do they (gasp!) send them off to corporate clearing house INSTEAD of putting them back to work and in the hands of students who need them? Please contact us.
Greetings students, teachers, parents, and care givers and welcome back to school! We at Laptop Upcycle are pleased that school is back in session and we wish everyone all the best in these difficult times. We have a lot of news to share on multiple fronts; partnerships, milestones, progress in our lab, and new volunteers, but to start a series of posts on these pages we share our opinion on the difference between Chromebooks and other laptops, with a focus on usage in our public schools in Montclair. The Montclair Board of Education announced in late August of 2021 that they would be issuing Chromebooks to every student as a part of their one-to-one Chromebook initiative (see this Montclair Local article for details). Laptop Upcycle fully supports this effort and we congratulate the district for this action. Getting technology in to the hands of students who need it has been our passion for close to five years now and we have succeeded in giving over 1000 laptops to students locally.
Laptop Upcycle would like you to understand the difference between borrowing a Chromebook from the District and getting one from us. Without further ado -
Thanks, Laptop Upcycle Sunny summer salutations from the Laptop Upcycle Lab! As this unusual school year has finally, officially ended, we’d like to call attention to the local high school seniors who have participated in our internship program and now graduated. Some of them have been coming to the Laptop Upcycle Lab for quite a few years! Hailing from Glen Ridge High School, Newark Academy and Montclair High School, this small army of dedicated young men and women has shown up regularly and often to learn how to test and repair laptops, securely wipe data, install and test new software so that each laptop that goes out the door is in the best condition possible. They have also had the chance to teach others and take leadership on special projects. We know the experiences and expertise they have gained will serve them well -- in college and beyond! To say that we appreciate their time and rely on their help is an understatement!  Summer high school internships Operating throughout the summer, our Laptop Upcycle internship program is open to any high school student who wants to learn about computers or earn community service hours. To learn more and read our updated COVID-19 precautions, join the Laptop Upcycle Lab Facebook group to stay up to date or grab a spot for a lab session here! (Almost) ageless opportunities Older than high school? We are 100% volunteer-run and seek new community volunteers! Of special interest is someone who can help us build a curriculum to certify our interns. If you’re interested, drop us a line! Thank you again to all our high school students for their community volunteerism, interest and enthusiasm. And, a BIG congratulations to the graduated Lab seniors!  We're all marveling in the change since January and certainly a hard shift from last June. While we’re hopeful that every student will be back in the classroom in the fall, poverty will continue to make learning and homework a challenge for many students in New Jersey (and beyond). Here is a great opportunity to help!
Charlie Peterson, an Eagle Scout candidate, is collecting laptops this Saturday morning, June 26th. Watch his video.
If you can’t make the Saturday laptop drive send us a quick email to set up a pick up or drop off. Thank you for your support!  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
As you know, we’re always trying to attract solid, working laptops that we can clean off, clean up, test and test again to deliver to students who can’t afford a computer for school. Most of the time, this is a PC or a Chromebook. But we also get MacBook donations (thank you!) that we reserve for special needs students. Their teachers find that Apple products are easier to implement and have a broader range of software designed for their students. It’s worth holding them aside. And, in March, we had a perfect match: we had MacBooks that were ready to go and a school that (really) needed them. Heywood Avenue School (Orange, NJ) had a big tech ask As a result of the COVID crisis, all the devices in the Orange Township Public School District had either been given out or had just given up. Heywood Avenue School Principal Faith Alcantara noted, “In the last 2 weeks I’ve collected about 20 devices that have failed. The District has placed an order but schools everywhere are competing for the same inventory. It’s especially challenging for my teachers while we are fully remote with equipment that is failing or has to be shared by different family members.” With a large, underprivileged student population at Heywood Avenue School ranging from grades K-7, the children in contained classrooms and resource support classrooms are learning remotely and using computers that aren’t adapted for their abilities. “It’s not just needing a working computer. Teachers have found that the Macs have better functionality allowing for more effective teaching methods for these particular students. It’s important to remove any barrier to student success and ability to learn.” A “Donors Choose” request kicked it off Ms. Muller, a resource classroom teacher at Heywood Avenue School in Orange, NJ, posted a desperate online request for MacBooks to replace older Chromebooks that were in various stages of deterioration (no speaker, no camera, no battery life, no internet connectivity, etc.) for her special education students. I found the online request and then volunteers coordinated the donation, pickup, and delivery of 17 refurbished and ready-to-go MacBooks to the Heywood Avenue School resource classroom students. The school then arranged safe pickup or delivery to each student in need. As a result, 17 families will be able to keep the donated Apple MacBooks as a permanent learning tool for each child. Lessons learned Ms. Alcantara has only praise for her teachers, students and families during the COVID school crisis, “Students must have a device that includes a camera, connectivity, and speakers to allow teachers to effectively teach. Teachers need up-to-date and effective technology and, although schools have made investments, who would have predicted that in this situation? Since March 2020, we have worked tirelessly to remove all barriers to our [students’] learning to ensure that all students have devices and an internet connection. Our students are working diligently to remain connected and engaged in their learning activity.” Her appreciation extended to the Laptop Upcycle donation. “We are excited that 17 of our students will be able to utilize Apple MacBooks as we have found that they often work better than the Chromebooks the majority of our students use. We cannot thank you enough for supporting the students of Heywood Avenue School.” Communities keeping the faith Laptop Upcycle can support schools like Heywood Elementary only because of the technology donations and funding that our supporters provide. And sometimes, that niche computer that isn’t part of our usual distribution is perfect for another student audience in need. In this case, the students in a particular resource classroom benefited mightily.  We don’t hand out laptops for these cups and candy, but boy this was a thank you that we all appreciated.
To learn more about Heywood Avenue School and its tremendous principal Faith Alcantara, click here. Thank you to all our supporters for your continuous stream of donations and word of mouth messaging. You're doing great work. Sincerely, Cynthia Newlin Laptop Upcycle Board Member |
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