Helena Hover Foundation is a GA-based nonprofit that collects, refurbishes, and distributes donated computers to low-income people and the community organizations that serve them. We seek to empower and enhance the educational and employment prospects of low-income youth by widening their access to the world of technology. $15,000 will provide laptops for 150 college-bound low-income students.

Challenge

Understanding how to use computers is crucial for young people to achieve educational success. Having easy access to the Internet, word processing, and education software, to write reports, conduct research, submit assignments, and receive feedback, has been shown to vastly enhance students’ potential to succeed and is thus essential for school. Students that lack easy access to computers because they are unaffordable find themselves at a severe disadvantage relative to their peers.

Solution

HHF takes donations of used computers and then trains teens to restore them into high-quality, fully-equipped systems to distribute to those who can’t afford them. In doing so, we help bridge the digital divide that separates those who have access to computers and those who do not. Furthermore, by teaching unemployed teens how to work with computers, we enhance their future employment prospects and encourage them to stay in school.

Long-Term Impact

First and foremost, HHF seeks to widen low-income students’ access to technology and expand their educational resources by providing refurbished laptops to meet all their computing needs. By doing so, HHF aims to even the playing field and enhance low-income students’ capacity to succeed. Second, HHF serves as a technical training ground for young people for careers in technology. Finally, in recycling, HHF prevents electronic waste from entering our soil, groundwater, and atmosphere.