That PC of yours may seem ancient, but chances are it has a bit more life left in it.
For computers not quite ready for the trash heap, the Lazarus Foundation will restore and donate them to nonprofits and schools.
“Our objective is to refurbish and get computers up and running,” said Don Bard, co-founder and president of the Columbia-based organization. “Then we find homes for them.”
The foundation limits what it accepts to computers with Pentium III or faster processors. Computers less than five years old are still viable, and Lazarus receives 25 to 40 computers each week.
Volunteers then fix up the “old” computers.
The group, which started in 1993, has been focusing on students, joining with Howard County Public Schools to bring computers into the homes of deserving children, Bard said.
Through a program called the Phoenix Project, the Maryland Department of Education provides refurbished computers to students and community groups. The charge is a bargain ? $20 per computer. The Phoenix Project partners with the National Cristina Foundation, which for the past 20 years has been encouraging corporations and individuals nationwide to donate computers.
For more information on the Lazarus Foundation, go to lazarus.org. For the National Cristina Foundation, visit cristina.org.
