Volunteer Heather Turnbull of Greenburgh works refurbishing
Help Them Relocate and Reopen!
Westchester PC Renew Gave Away Over 1,500 Computer to Needy Persons
A two-decades-old non-profit program donating free refurbished personal computers to disadvantaged persons in Westchester County is suspending operations indefinitely due to a lack of lockable workspace necessary for refurbishing.
Westchester PC Renew has distributed over 1,500 refurbished used personal computers locally since 2004, but its shoe-string budget that includes all-volunteer free labor is unable to afford rental of commercial workspace at market rates. Westchester PC Renew operates under the umbrella of non-profit TechEdConnect, which is a local community service organization helping the general public navigate personal technology.
“You can’t do your homework or apply for a job without a computer,” says Dobbs Ferry psychologist Dr. Beverly Richard. “It’s a necessity to be plugged into the world today.” Dr. Richard is a retired psychologist from the Children’s Village, a nonprofit residential treatment center and social service organization for children and families , which received hundreds of free desktops and laptops over the years.
One thank-you letter from an area recipient says, “I will use the computer for my homework project and most likely college study. I don’t have to go to the library [anymore] and worry about running out of time, or my work not saving.”
The Mental Health Association of Westchester wrote: “The youngster was clearly very happy to have a working computer, which she had learned to use while in foster care but which had not been available to her once she returned home.”
Seven of the many thank-you letters received from recipients are posted on the www.TechEdConnect.org website. On homepage, scroll down to “We love hearing from recipients of our refurbished computers “
Over the years, Westchester PC-Renew has given free refurbished PCs to the needy via these organizations: Cancer Support Team of Westchester, Cerebral Palsy of Westchester, The Children’s Village, three Choice programs, the Department of Veterans Affairs – Hudson Valley Health Care System, Dobbs Ferry Library, Eastchester Community Action Program, Family Services of Westchester in White Plains, Foster Teen Employment Network in Rye Brook, Girl Scouts of Westchester & Putnam, Grace Church/Grace Community Center White Plains, Greenburgh Nature Center, Head Start of Westchester in Purchase, Hearts and Homes for Refugees in Pelham, Mental Health Association of Westchester, Pace-United Hebrew Geriatric Center in New Rochelle, Salvation Army of Peekskill, St Joseph’s Nursing Home in Yonkers, Archbishop Stepinac High School of White Plains, Guidance Center of Mt. Vernon, United Way of Westchester and Putnam, and three area Westcop programs.
Among Westchester PC-Renew’s accomplishments is recycling equipment. Used PCs do not go into landfills in an eco-friendly benefit of the program. Because of the wind-down, no more equipment is being received.
“We’ve provided a great community service for over 20 years,” says Pierre Darmon, a Westchester PC-Renew volunteer and White Plains resident. “But without a lockable suitable workspace this can’t continue. But we are still hopeful a solution can be found.” Darmon is a computer support consultant who is a former career IBMer. He is also president of the non-profit TechEdConnect, the organization that originated WPC-Renew.
At minimum, 700 square feet of space is required for volunteers to work during repair sessions, and it’s required the space be locked to securely store hardware components, equipment and tools.
Greenburgh-resident Allan Turnbull, a retired civil servant and a photography enthusiast, became a volunteer worker 14 years ago with his wife, Heather. He didn’t have computer expertise so Turnbull started by checking computer monitor screens “to see if they were cracked or had other problems,” he says. “It was simple stuff. As we learned more, we were asked to do more complex testing and work.”
Heather, who has a long computer background after retiring from the art department as a graphic designer at MetLife insurance, says “it felt like working in Santa’s workshop.” But instead of making toys, the countertops were cluttered with computers, parts, tools and diagnostic equipment.
Volunteers numbering a dozen at a time used to gather to accomplish refurbishing together, but with the pandemic they also arranged to work remotely. The refurbishing is most productive when done as a group because collaboration is easy and parts are more readily accessible. Computers are desktops and laptops that are equipped with free, open-source software: the Linux operating system and LibreOffice, which are similar to Microsoft’s Windows operating system and the related MS Office productivity software. For a time, Westchester PC-Renew was an authorized Microsoft refurbisher, installing new Microsoft software on its donated PCs, but software prices became unaffordable over time.
The open-sourced Linux can run on older, less-powerful PCs so “that’s why we can use older computers because Linux will operate just fine,” says Linda Iannuzzo, a volunteer who is a retired teacher from City University of New York. She is also VP of TechEdConnect.
Over the years, Westchester PC-Renew was housed in the basement of Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, and Wartburg Residential and Rehabilitation Center in Mount Vernon. Both hosts needed to reclaim the work space, and Westchester PC-Renew found renting workspace is unaffordable.
A separate, sibling organization PC-Renew in nearby Rockland County, which pre-dates Westchester PC-Renew, continues (mostly in volunteers’ homes) and is unaffected by the wind-down of the Westchester project.
This group is willing to reopen and continue their volunteer work for the community if they can find a rent free space. The only requirement is that it has a lock. Please contact publicity@techedconnect.org.
