Project Description:
We have been refurbishing computers ourselves for seven years (the last two of which were under the HelpingTulsa name). But two years ago (we did not enter the Jerry Award contest last year) we began also helping set up other computer refurbishing projects, both locally and all over the world, and have done most of these in the last year. See http://helpingtulsa.org/#projects for a list of projects we have helped get set up. We have even extended an offer to other 501(c)3 Non Profit organizations to help them get a copy of our hard drive so they can make their own image machine.

How we will use award money:
Monetary award would be used to cover purchases of items not provided when companies donate computers to be refurbished. For example some remove hard drives, or fail to provide mice and power cables. We would also like to purchase software that will completely destroy all information on a hard drive, so we can provide that software to major donors in hope that they will give us their old hard drives, and we would like to fund the expense of a mailing to encourage major corporations to donate their old computers to our project.

Supporting Documentation:
See http://helpingtulsa.org/#projects we have helped set up around the world.

HOW we do what we do
See http://helpingtulsa.org/#projects for a list of other computer refurbishing projects we have helped get set up, and see http://www.helpingtulsa.org/howto/spcsne.htm for details on how we helped set up a computer refurbishing project in Superior, Nebraska. We have provided them with a total of four image machines (so far), and they are even setting up their own satellite computer refurbishing projects in other cities in Nebraska. I continue to help them, for example, with the graphic work for wallpaper for these other cities.

I am sure that everyone has heard the idea of "Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he will eat for the rest of his life". Many groups have Computer Refurbishing projects, which are like saying "Refurbish an old computer for a man and he will have a computer that will fill his needs for a while" but by teaching others how to set up their own computer refurbishing projects, we are saying "Teach a man to refurbish computers and he will have a computer for the rest of his life, and he can refurbish computers for the needy in his city.".

I get pleasure out of refurbishing computers for needy organizations in my area, and in providing computers to people to ship to needy organizations in other areas, but I realize that there is no way I can fill the needs of all needy organizations in the world. I get even greater pleasure out of teaching someone else how we do computer refurbishing, and helping them set up similar projects in their area, because I know they will be collecting computers that I never would have been able to collect, and that they will be refurbishing them and helping needy organizations in their area.