Letiesha Humphries is proud of her new computer.
Photo by Cyndi Fisher
By Deanna Crispen
"It's better than Christmas," exclaimed Brandon Pike, an eighth grader at Taylor Middle School, as he and his father proudly wheeled a pre-owned computer out of IUK's Kelley Student Center.
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Letiesha Humphries is proud of her new computer. Photo by Cyndi Fisher
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Brandon was one of 40 Howard County students who received a computer last month in the Computer Closet's second giveaway this year.
The Closet, sponsored by the Kokomo Rotary Club in partnership with IUK, has given away more than 75 computers and peripherals since its debut nine months ago, according to Rotarian, Vic Thacker.
The program actually grew out of a different university/community-based partnership, Destination Education: IUK, an early intervention scholarship program often referred to as D:E. Thacker was serving as a D:E mentor when his mentee needed help with a writing assignment and had no access to a word processor.
Thacker, who is chief executive officer of MEEDCO, Inc. Design & Engineering, generously gave the student a computer his business no longer used because it had purchased a newer model.
Seeing the difference that one computer made, Thacker imagined the results if more students and unused equipment could be matched. He approached the Rotary Club and IU Kokomo with his idea, and the Computer Closet was born.
The Closet accepts donations of unused or replaced computers from businesses and individuals, then recycles them to students and others with a demonstrated educational need. Businesses, in turn, are able to take a tax credit for the donation.
Students who want to be considered must fill out an application and locate a community sponsor. The applications are processed by a qualifications review committee. IUK provides storage for the equipment.
Computers given out in November were among 70 donated by the St. Joseph Hospital and Health Center in Kokomo. Mary Baker, director of community relations at St. Joseph's, said the Closet is the best resource for getting the computers into the hands of those who need them. Hospital personnel donated time to help clean and prepare the 486 processing units for the new owners.
IUK students are also directly involved in the program. Cyndi Fisher, a student who serves as coordinator of D:E, was one of the many who volunteered. Fisher perched at a table next to the door checking in students. She, like the students and their parents who began lining up an hour before the doors opened, could hardly contain her enthusiasm. Said Fisher, "It feels so good to give to kids who can benefit from this extra opportunity."
The Computer Closet even extends after the students get their equipment home. Toni Fox of United Way gathered and printed a resource guide filled with information and names of volunteers, who agreed to donate their time to those who need assistance becoming familiar with their equipment.
In its brief history, this grassroots community partnership has far surpassed the expectations of all involved, including Thacker. And, as Thacker joked about the possibility of a "brownout" in Kokomo when all the students hooked up their equipment following last month's distribution, a 10-year-old new computer owner asked his mom to put a mousepad on his Christmas wish list.
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