Volunteers Put Old Computers to New Use

When Bernard Harrigan walked into Jordan High School last spring, the computers in his classroom were 10 years old and, essentially, useless.

Internet access was not possible. The mouses were broken. The chips were pre-Pentium.

A few months later, Harrigan started Computers For School, a nonprofit that finds donated computers, repairs them, delivers them and sets them up at schools that need them and have few options to get them.

The 30-year-old computer teacher said that after his volunteer staff finishes, all teachers and students need to do is turn them on -- which sometimes isn’t possible when donations arrive.

“There are so many computer donations, and a lot of it really isn’t that good,” Harrigan said. “It’s a tax write-off for somebody and that’s it.”

In nine months, Computers For School has delivered or repaired 600 computers at eight schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District, Harrigan said.

Along the way, students volunteering with Harrigan’s group have learned how to repair computer hardware and set up software while working with the donated computers.

Harrigan’s goal is to donate 20 to 30 computers at a time, giving schools the equipment to convert classrooms into computer labs.

Harrigan said he hopes to find volunteers to set up Computers For School groups in other cities across the country.

“I don’t want to make it a local thing,” he said. “I want to make it a national thing.”

Harrigan’s team delivered 10 working computers and installed them at Carnegie Middle School in February, a day after he spoke to the principal.

“I can’t believe this,” Principal Susan Price remembered saying to herself.

Often, support to make computers functional is not part of the donation, she said.

“I can’t tell you how many we have to put in the trash,” she said. “There’s just so much junk. We can’t afford to have them repaired.”

So it’s not surprising that, when Harrigan offered to help, Price had another thought: “Surely there’s a trick, a catch, a string attached.”

But there wasn’t.

Danielle Jenkins, a special education teacher at Carnegie, couldn’t believe it when she walked into her classroom and saw seven refurbished computers. “It was like the computer fairy came and dropped off computers one night,” she said.

Before they arrived, Jenkins had two computers in her classroom -- one for the students and one for herself.

When her lesson plan called for computer work, students would take turns in front of the screen, she said.

In addition to the Carnegie lab, Computers For School has built four additional computer labs at schools in the Los Angeles area.

Linda Conkey, who oversees the computer donation program for Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems in El Segundo, so far has given 260 computers to Computers For School.

She said Harrigan solved a problem that her company faced when donating computers to schools.

“There was really no one -- an information technology person -- to set up the computers. We give them as is and hope for the best,” she said.

“He was doing everything -- delivering, networking and getting them Internet-ready.”

These computer donations not only help the students and schools that receive them, but also the students at Jordan High School who have volunteered with the group since the beginning.

They have gained practical experience by repairing the computers and helping set up the labs.

When Harrigan receives donations, student volunteers examine them to see if they can be made to work. Often, it is a matter of simply installing software.

Sometimes, repairs can be complicated, requiring students to open up a computer to examine its hard drive, upgrade memory or install network cards or CD-ROMs.

Harrigan said many could go out and get jobs doing basic computer repairs with what they have learned.

Jordan High student Rafael Perez, 15, said the time he has spent in Harrigan’s classroom has helped him focus on his future goals.

“I never knew how to work on computers,” he said. “I just knew how to play games.”

But after taking Harrigan’s after-school computer class last year, Rafael said he now knows how to build and repair computers, as well as troubleshoot and solve software problems.

He said he enjoys it so much that he regularly volunteers with Computers For School.

Rafael said his work with computers also has helped him academically.

“Before, it was difficult, all Ds and Fs. Now, I have three A’s, two Bs and two Cs,” he said.

Rafael, the oldest of four children, said he hopes his skills can help him support his family. His stepfather does not work because of an illness and his mother is a full-time caretaker for his younger brother, who has Down’s syndrome.

Rafael said sometimes other students tease him about his interest in computers.

“They think I’m kind of a nerd, but it’s nothing. I don’t mind as long as I get a job,” said Rafael, who plans to study computers in college.

“I want to learn how to create computers, like Bill Gates.”