What We Do
Our Mission
Our aim is to teach children computer skills and provide them with the chance at a meaningful education through the use of computers; in an effort to help realize their potential, build technological knowledge, and gain skills necessary for a brighter future.
We focus our efforts on building computer labs and providing the nessecary training to the leaders and managment of the underdeveloped schools, libraries, orpganages and community centers we work with.
To provide the children with opportunities in today's world, from an chance to enroll in college to securing a job, computer skills are fundamentally necessary and essential to get a start in many of today's developed and developing societies.
Many of us, from time to time, need to upgrade our computers and end up storing, throwing away, or selling our old systems. PC United wants to put these old systems to use. By using Ubuntu (a Linux based operating system that runs smoothly and quickly on old systems with relatively older processors and limited ram) we are able to take your old computers and make them functional tools that work as a great introduction to computing for these children.Who We Are
PC United is a non-profit organization focusing on disadvantaged children in schools & orphanages, locally and around the world. We re-cycle desktops and laptops to build computer labs with the aim of bridging the technological divide & uniting underprivileged children with their full potential.
Repurposing Old Computers
Give Your Old Computer A Second Chance! Its a simple effort on your part and a simple effort on our part, and when our efforts combine great things happen.
Re-purposing your old, used, or junked computers can really empower a child and make a meaningful difference for the better.We use Ubuntu (the leader in Linux operating systems) to re-purpose older computers. With Ubuntu’s user friendly & extremely lean operating system we’re able to provide children computers that work as fast and as efficient as today’s computers.
Photos & videos from our projects
Previous Work
To date we have made and continue to impact local families in the Twin Cities communities, touching the lives of 300+ children. We have also developed small scale, yet successful, computer labs in Ecuador & Mexico, affecting the lives of approximately 100 children abroad. As we continue to grow, assisting and educating local families, and equipping underprivileged schools / orphanages with computer labs, we will continue to share their smiles caught on camera. Their smiles are an inspiration to us, and we hope you can see why!
Refugee Families
In partnership with World Relief
Resettling to a new land, culture and society is taxing on any individual. The refugee families that PC United works with have been living in refugee camps anywhere from five to 20 years prior to arriving to the US. Many of the children we engage with were born in refugee camps with limited resources and educational training. PC United typically works with families that have been in the US for less than three months and have several school-aged children. Due to economical reasons, refugee families are usually resettled in less desirable and rough neighborhoods. Many of the negative influences that are associated with these neighborhoods have a strong affect on individuals trying to assimilate, in particular young children. With the contribution of a computer in the household however, parents will have a way to engage with their young children in learning together and reinforcing family values of education.
Inner City Teenage Mothers
PC United has partnered with local organizations dedicating their efforts to assisting inner-city teenage mothers and helping refugee families prosper in the Twin Cities. Our continually growing involvement with local families is helping open new doors and opportunities to a new generation of ambitious children.
Mexico - Huayacocotla
Two primary schools, serving grades 1-6, in rural Mexico, were both fitted with donated laptops for the school's first ever computer lab. PC United and the wonderful volunteers who helped make this a reality reached 60 students who otherwise would not have had access to computers and the wide array of learning software included.
Mexico - Vallarta & Chacala
PC United setup compueter labs in two stuggling Special Ed schools in Vallarta and Chacala, Mexico. Along with offering targeted learning systems, PC United volunteers spent the majority of their time brining school staff up to speed on the newly delivered equipment and educational software programs. Roughly 50 students in total ranging in age attend these two Special Education schools.
Mexico - Villa Jesus Maria
The local school of 60+ students, maded up of elementary aged children and a technical secondary program was only able to offer computer training at the local library, which could accommodate 10 students at a time sharing 3 computers. With the help of local donations, PC United was able to provide 25 computers and educational resources necessary to carry out our mission of adequately educating the students of Villa Jesus Maria.
Ecuador - Belén
Casa Hogar de Belén (Home of Bethlehem) orphanage is situated in the city of Portoviejo in the Province of Manabí in Ecuador. PC United was able to setup up a computer lab, impacting 30 young boys and girls that stay at the orphanage.
Donate
If you have an old laptop you would like to contribute to our cause, you may either call for a pick-up, drop it off, or ship it to us.
We are currently looking for:
Laptop & Notebook Computers
Computer Accessories
Parts (memory, hard drives, etc...)
Donation Pick-Up:
Available in the Twin Cities, New York City & San Francisco
Call: 612-293-5745
Email: donate@pcunited.orgAbout Us
PC United is run by a diverse group of volunteers and un-paid staff members, who all share a common goal: to help those in need and make a lasting impact for the better. We understand the importance of sharing knowledge and resources, which allow opportunities to form and doors to open. Through the talent and dedication of PC United's members, we are capable and committed to fulfilling this mission to make an enduring impact for the benefit of those who are underprivileged.
Karim Ezzat
Jose Palma
Rommy Ahmed
Taimoor Dar
Levon Esaybegyan
