Old computers are one step closer to finding a second life at Pittsburgh organizations like senior centers, after-school programs and churches through a city partnership with a local group that refurbishes electronic devices.
Computer Reach, based in Wilkinsburg, takes donations of various computer equipment like monitors, keyboards and laptops and refurbishes them to give to community organizations.
The equipment that Computer Reach workers can’t repair, they recycle.
“We’re a nonprofit organization, so our mission is reuse and digital literacy,” said Computer Reach executive director Dave Sevick. “We recycle things that we can’t use and refurbish and reuse everything that we can. We track all the serial numbers and can tell you where the computers went, how they’re being used and how they’re being disposed of responsibly.”
Though the group’s primary goal is to refurbish and distribute the electronics, about two-thirds of the products it receives are unusable and have to be recycled, Mr. Sevick said.
Because the organization is a nonprofit, its operations are funded through grants and personal donations, Mr. Sevick said.
The partnership would allow the city to donate equipment valued at $92,639 — which includes over 300 desktop computers, 74 laptops, 472 monitors, 243 keyboard and 170 mice — that Computer Reach would then distribute, Mr. Sevick explained.
Earlier this year, Computer Reach was selected by AT&T and national nonprofit Digitunity to participate in a 10-city project that will provide devices to more than 2,000 students and families in Western Pennsylvania.
The donations aren’t just for large organizations, like the city.
“Residents of the entire southwest Pennsylvania [region] can do one-off … donations,” Mr. Sevick said. “Anyone can do that, but large pickups like we do for corporations are much easier to organize when there’s a large pallet and a truck involved.”
Computer Reach distributes about 3,000 computers each year to families or nonprofits as a way to help develop digital literacy.
“This [partnership] is toward our efforts to close the digital divide here in Pittsburgh,” said Heidi Norman, the city’s director of the Department of Innovation and Performance.
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for access to technology and put a spotlight on areas where access is lacking.
In addition to just providing the computers, the organization also employs a team of what it calls digital navigators, who help connect people to affordable internet access and provide tech support.
Interested organizations can also schedule a digital literacy class through Computer Reach, where one of the nonprofit’s digital literacy teachers instructs on a range of topics like internet safety, email and social media use.
Through Computer Reach’s website, people can also access an age-friendly technology guide, which breaks down different internet plans offered in the city and places where seniors can take training classes for their devices.
The organization created this guide during the pandemic, as a way to help older adults bridge the gap that was created when many things went virtual, like telehealth appointments and ordering groceries online.
Computer Reach also runs a small computer store out of its warehouse, where customers can buy newer, refurbished computers for between $100 and $300.
To go through with the city’s donation to Computer Reach, Pittsburgh City Council has to give final approval for the partnership, which could be voted on as early as Tuesday.
Hallie Lauer: hlauer@post-gazette.com.
First Published: June 20, 2022, 10:00 a.m.
Updated: June 20, 2022, 11:09 a.m.