Computers donated to Blair at Digital Edge Expo

Members of the BlairConnect program visited the Digital Edge Expo at the Washington Convention Center and obtained approximately 100 computers that will be refurbished and distributed to Blair students.

To date, BlairConnect has given away approximately 400 computers to students without Internet-ready computers at home, mostly to students in the ESOL and SPARC programs. It ultimately aims to give every Blair student a computer capable of accessing the Internet. "The goal of BlairConnect is that every student at Blair should have an Internet capable computer at home for using BEN and doing homework," said Blair User Support Specialist AnneWisniewski

Wisniewski went with students Aaron Johnson and Chris Mulligan to the expo on September 13 and 14 to participate in a computer recycling program, where computers and other hardware were donated to the program. They also set up a booth at the expo to inform others about BlairConnect and to solicit additional donations.

The computers collected at the expo are generally no more than five years old. Most of them will be refurbished and given away. "Nearly all of them will be distributed directly to students," said Mulligan. Seven of the computers are the same type as those currently used in the school and will be used to replace broken computers in the Art and Technology Education departments.

BlairConnect also recently expanded to serving some of Blair's feeder schools. In June, computers were given to students at New Hampshire Estates Elementary School in Silver Spring. Obsolete Macintosh computers are being given to various day care providers around the Washington area.

The only requirement that students must meet in order to receive a computer is that they do not already have an Internet capable computer at home. If students want to sign up to receive one, they can do so at the front desk in the Media Center. According to Wisniewski, BlairConnect currently has approximately 50 computers that are ready to be given away.

Wisniewski is also looking for both financial donations and donations of unwanted computer hardware. To inquire about making a tax-deductible donation to BlairConnect, call Wisniewski at 301-649-2899 or email her at wiz@mbhs.edu.