Brooklyn nonprofit is giving corporate cast-off computers a second life
In a world where everything is digital, not having a computer can mean falling behind.
Three years ago, Yeisy Cruz received a donated desktop. It quickly became a doorway to her dream of becoming a doctor.
"I now have it in my house and I'm studying for the MCAT with it and has been so helpful," said the 25-year-old, who now works as a program coordinator for Nino de la Caridad foundation in the Bronx.
That's the mission of Technology for Families in Need, or TechFIN. The Industry City based nonprofit is turning corporate cast-offs into life changing tools.
Crystal White is Vice President of Enterprise and Media Solutions at Paramount Global, the parent company of CBS News New York. In her free time, she serves on the board of TechFIN.
"There are a lot of corporations that are replacing the computers of their employees rather frequently and either sending them to recyclers or send them into the landfill perhaps. And these computers are still in good working condition. And at the same time, there are a lot of families that don't have a computer in their home," White said.
TechFIN's data shows that of the families it serves, 83% did not have full-time access to a computer at home.
More than a quarter of the students had to write school papers on their phone.
"Our focus tends to be on school age children, but that's not to say that a parent might not need it for job search or somebody that's still learning English can use it for their ESL classes," White said.
This week, TechFIN deployed a batch of 40 machines to Nino de la Caridad, a community foundation serving Hispanic families in the Bronx.
"We decided to create a lab for the kids and for the parents to help them with financial literacy, even how to open a computer, how to write letters, or how to apply for college," says Dr. Denise Nunez, the founder of the organization.
Students wasted no time firing up the machines for homework help.
Some of the computers will be going home with the students. The rest will remain in the new computer lab, helping the kids prepare for a robotics competition this spring.
"We were literally just using three iPads that we had, family iPads," says Dr. Nunez.
TechFIN recently received a $100,000 grant from a philanthropic foundation called Brooklyn Org. White says its a chance to expand TechFIN's footprint.
"Hopefully provide people that look like me and other minority children, and children that don't necessarily have these resources, to be able to join STEM professions," she says.
The organization is working to show that a second-hand computer can bridge the digital divide.
White also helped facilitate donations from Paramount to TechFIN in the past.
This story came to CBS News New York through research, without input from either organization.
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