The Metropolitan Learning Center, a Portland Public Schools alternative program, contacted us a few months ago to see if we could help them replace 25 aging CRT monitors with LCD monitors to reduce their energy use in the computer lab. Thanks to a generous institutional donation, and the hard work of volunteer monitor testers, we are gradually shifting them over to a more environmentally-friendly program:

This is all possible as part of our Hardware Grants program, a predominantly volunteer-powered branch of Free Geek committed to getting computers and related electronics into the hands of deserving community-change and community-service organizations.

Thank you donors, volunteers and Hardware Grants interns for making a difference!

Patrick Carrico, the new teen librarian at the Cathlamet, Washington Library, sent us this video to show us how excited they are to setup their new teen computer lab thanks to a grant of five computers from Free Geek. Many of the teens in their area do not have computers or Internet access at home, so offering this service in the library is going to be a wonderful way to help them get connected with each other, local schools’ on-line grade monitoring software and the world at large.

Thanks for sharing this with us, Patrick! We can’t wait to hear more about the great things that are happening in your library.

Louisa from SE Uplift shows off a new laptop.

This year we granted a half dozen laptops to SE Uplift to be used by staff in order to support Southeast neighborhoods. The employees at SE Uplift are involved in a variety of organizations and participate on various boards and advisory committees. Laptops allow them to serve their community members in a more efficient and professional manner as much of their work takes place outside of their office headquarters. The mission of SE Uplift is to assist the citizens and neighborhood associations of Southeast Portland to create communities that are livable, socially diverse, safe and vital.

Free Geek Volunteer and Grant Shepherd Nate Lee chats with Ani Haines of KBOO

The donation of a double record cleaner presented a dilemma: it was too large to store for long and definitely too cool to recycle. We needed someone who needed a record cleaner and could pick it up fast.  It was time for the Hardware Grants team to play matchmaker–we called Ani Haines at KBOO, and she was happy to pick it up that day and take it to its new home. Matchmaker, Matchmaker, make me a match….!

Last Week’s Grant Recipients:

Portland Organic Productions Serenity Homes of Oregon

Grace Peck Terrace Apts

Paranormal & Occult Research Team

Our United Villages/The Rebuilding Center

Salem/Keizer Coalition for Equality

Oregon Food Bank

Rebuilding Dreams, Washington County Adult Drug Court Alumni Association

Salem West Foursquare Church

Synod of Livingstonia, Church of Central Africa, Presbyterian (CCAP)

Do Jump

Boy Scouts of America Troop 542

The NE Portland Rotary Club is holding a fundraiser with Scream At the Beach in the form of a haunted house. Stay tuned for more details closer to the event in October. The Rotary Club will also be using Free Geek computers, printers, and speakers to do some of the behind-the-scenes work in making the haunted house as creepy as possible.

Last Week’s Grant Recipients:

Oregonians for Renewable Energy Policy
Adorned in Grace
North Portland Bible College
St. Johns Main Street Coalition
Oregonians for Renewable Energy Policy
The Inn Home for Boys
Roosevelt High School
Richmond Oxford House
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
Village Child Care
Outside In
Metropolitan Learning Center
Oregon Crystal Meth Anonymous
Neighborhood House
Westside Community Focus
Stop Child Trafficking Now

Representatives from St. Maries Christian School made a 7 hour drive from Idaho to pick up computers from Free Geek! Here are the computers in action.

Last Week’s Grant Recipients:

World Vietnamese Buddhist Order

Oregon Chapter of the Scleroderma Foundation

Friends of Columbia Park – Tinker Camp

Salem Area Chamber of Commerce Outside In

Kiwanis Camp Wa-ri-ki

Oregon City Preschool

More Roads To Learning

Oak Grove Learning Tree

Faithful Savior Community School

Bridges To Change

Greater Faith Baptist Church

Bike Farm

Computer Solutions Baja California Picks Up A Large Grant From Free Geek

Story of the Week: Steve Harris Oxford House, Albany, Oregon

“We provide clean and sober living for addicts and alcoholics in recovery. The equipment we have received from Free Geek is used to assist the residents of our house with the ability to perform work searches on line, access e-mail, build resumes, as well as being used to help manage the house. Despite initial concern with OS familiarity our residents have found the Linux/Ubuntu system to be extremely user friendly and have adapted very well indeed.”

Other Grant Recipients:
SnowCap Community Charities
Oregon City Preschool
Vancouver Baracks Military Organization (VBMA)
Unconditional Love
Project Access NOW
Young Men of Awareness
Peace Planet Project
Through The Storm-Kern Park Christian Church
More Roads To Learning
Goldendale Christian School
Cascadia Wild
Mental Health Association of Portland
Richmond Oxford House Read More…

Representatives from Straightway Services Pick Up Their Computers

Straightway Services exists to provide at-risk youth the skills they need in order to be successful academically and in the working world. During there annual summer program 10 to 30 youth receive employment, environmental education, and valuable experience serving their community. Free Geek provided Straightway Services with ten computers, which will be used as part of the computer skills training program.



Other Grant Recipients:


Lake Oswego School District CNS
Geo Answers
Dignity Village
Edwards Center
Elkhorn Eagles Auxilary #3456
Lewis & Clark Plaza

Mid-Valley Literacy Center
“The desktop computers will be used for a student computer lab that we are in the process of developing. Most of our students don’t have computers or internet access. We need a computer lab where our tutors will be able to provide additional instruction for GED and ELL students so they can improve their skills faster and learn basic computer operations. On-line GED exercises are free and will support and enhance the current instruction provided by our tutors. Computer access will also better enable our unemployed students to increase their job search efforts. The laptop computer will be used in our tutor training sessions to assist our trainers in conducting the training presentations. Our training takes place in a variety of locations and a laptop computer will enable our trainers to enhance the training program through the use of power point presentations.”

Cascadia Wild
“Cascadia Wild is a Portland-based nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting local citizens with nature. We combine modern ecology with knowledge of the ancient ways of living with the earth, teaching a unique curriculum of animal tracking, edible plants, wilderness survival, and sensory awareness. By providing individuals with a greater understanding of the natural world, Cascadia Wild seeks to instill a sense of place in nature and to transform how people perceive their role in the cycle of life. The computers will be used for office functions such as communications, website maintenance, and bookkeeping. Programs we will run on them include: word processing, web browsing, bookkeeping, document creation, photo editing, and TOPO! mapping program.”

Hunde Nagaya
Mid-Valley Literacy Center
IT HELPS
Global Deaf Connection
Paranormal & Occult Research Team
Urban Progress
Kiwanis Camp Wa-ri-ki
Mill Park Elementary School
OryCon
NAMI Clackamas County
KBOO
Northwest Children’s Theater and School
Bradley Angle
Hacienda Community Development Corporation

St. Agatha Catholic School
These Numbers Have Faces
On-the-Move Community Integration
Global Deaf Connection
Society for Haitian Arts and Culture
Caritas Villa (Catholic Charities)
Fuse Theatre Ensemble
Markham Children’s Care Association
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
West Salem High School
World Vietnamese Buddhist Order
Non-Stop Cooperative
Outside In
Young Men of Awareness
Steve Baker Colorectal Cancer Alliance (SBCCA)
Cafe Of The Masses
Bridges to Change
TaborSpace Community Center
Troy Schools New Horizons Learning Center
BIRRDsong (Brain Injury Information Referral and Resource Development)
Oak Hills Elementary
YWCA Salem

Powers To Be Church of Christ
North Santiam Gleaners
Portland Homeless Family Solutions
Lincoln High School Robotics Team
Comprehensive Housing Consultant
Mt Tabor Little League

Trillium Charter School
Oregon Universal
Tool Shed
New Orleans Food Coop
Ano’s Art Academy
Oregon Green Free
Portland State University Sánchez Nano-Development Lab
Life House Fellowship Church
Outside In
Westside Community Focus
MIKE Program (Multicultural Integrated Kidney Education Program)
Miracle Village Academy
Oregon Fair Trade Campaign
Get A Life Marching Band
Dignity Village
Hunde Nagaya
Paranormal & Occult Research Team
Molalla River Academy

“One laptop saves lives of hundreds.”

-Josphat Waruhiu, Imani Project, an HIV/AIDs awareness group

Portland Village School
Oregon Chapter of the Scleroderma Foundation
Westside Community Focus
Milagro Theater Group
Youth Employment Institute
Portland Women’s Crisis Line
Full Holy Ghost Mission
Outside In
The Inn Home for Boys
Unconditional Love
Leach Garden Friends
Imani Project / CIC
Lake Oswego School District CNS
North Portland Bible College

“I’d like to thank Free Geek for their generous donation of 11 modeling computers. I can’t even imagine completing this project without this resource. This donation saved me an uncountable number of hours. Thanks, solely to this donation, I was able to run 13 models at any given time. Many of these models would take 5 days to run. I would still be running models were it not for them.”

Jeff Doughty, Portland State University Sánchez Nano-Development Lab

Portland State University Sánchez Nano-Development Lab
The Braindump @ Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science
Northwest Housing Alternatives
Community Help Institute for Learning and Development
Gunners Baseball Club Association (GBCA)
Organizing for Communities
Outside In
Caritas Villa (Catholic Charities)
Steve Baker Colorectal Cancer Alliance (SBCCA)
St. Maries Christian School

“As a grassroots effort and free community resource, we couldn’t function without the equipment we received from Free Geek. ”

http://www.northportlandtoollibrary.org/

“With the equipment we are able to provide internet access to our community members who have no internet access at home and computer classes for them too.”

“As a new nonprofit just starting out, the focus at StreetReach NW has been
offering ways to help the homeless in Vancouver and Portland. The generous
gift of computers that Free Geek has given us is wonderful and has made doing
this work so much easier! It is allowing us to communicate not only with the
public, and between ourselves, but to also create a website that directs
attention to the work we are doing. Thank you Free Geek staff for your
kindness and personal attention to our needs; you have impressed our entire
group, and we would like to let everyone know that you deserve to be
recognized for being such a terrific asset to the community.”

http://streetreachnw.webs.com/

“Free Geek helped our organization by providing equipment and support to serve our office needs. This has been a greatly appreciated as it has enabled us to focus more of our very limited resources on direct program administration. Thanks, Free Geek!”

http://portlandfruit.org/

“Much of our equipment is 10+ years old. Now we can read email.”

http://www.yei.org/