Last Saturday, Jon and I spent the morning at C2SDK’s monthly computer giveaway.
Computers 2 SD Kids is a wonderful two-fer organization: it helps low-income families, and it helps the environment. It does this by accepting donations of used computers and other electronics from individuals and local companies, refurbishing the computers, and giving them to families. The computers that can’t be refurbished—and the other electronics—are recycled, which provides cash for C2SDK’s programs.
The monthly giveaways are fun, and go by in a blur. There are always a few frustrating and/or comedic moments, like when Jon, who spends the events directing traffic, had to pluck a small Muslim man out of the way of a speeding car. Or when a recipient gets upset that their monitor is not only a lowly CRT instead of the much-preferred LCD, it is a different color from the computer! And the mouse is yet another color—ack! Or when someone shows up with their application and wants their computer right now, instead of going through the approval process like everyone else in line had to do.
Then there are the touching moments, like the time it just happened to be a little girl’s birthday. She squealed with delight when she got her system.
Our September giveaway was particularly poignant, as it was held on September 11. With the protests and counter-protests going on at various national sites that day, I found myself looking at the line of white, Hispanic, black, and Muslim families and thinking that this was a better way to spend the day: helping Americans in need, no matter where they were from or how long they’d been here.
follow me on Twitter
