TERRA, Digitunity to improve digital equity in Philadelphia
TERRA, Digitunity to improve digital equity in Philadelphia
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The Electronics Reuse & Recycling Alliance (TERRA), an electronics recycling organization based in Nashville, Tennessee, has formed a partnership with Digitunity, a national nonprofit company based in North Conway, New Hampshire, that aims to eliminate the technology gap, and Philadelphia-based PHLDonateTech to collect, refurbish and return devices to Philadelphia residents. The effort is part of TERRA’s “Done with IT” program that offers a convenient and secure mail-in option for laptops and tablets. Through this partnership, the shipping and refurbishment costs for the first 400 mail-in orders are being sponsored by Santander Bank.
According to a news release from TERRA, 9 percent of Philadelphia households did not have a computer, laptop or other internet-connected devices before the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, the Mayor’s Fund for Philadelphia launched the PHLDonateTech program, which accepts donated computers and tablets for families and people in need across the city.
“There are enough retired devices to close the digital divide,” says Steven Napoli, president and CEO of TERRA. “The process of getting them into the right hands just needs to be made simple and secure, and that’s what we’ve done.”
Philadelphia-area residents within a 50-mile radius of the city can visit the PHLDonateTech page at Done with IT to request a free shipping label. Each label provides up to 10 pounds of laptops and/or tablets in good condition to be returned. No broken and/or outdated equipment is accepted, and chargers and other peripherals are requested, according to PHLDonateTech.
“Everyone who needs a computer should have one, and technology reuse is such an important part of the solution,” says Scot Henley, executive director of Digitunity. “We are proud to support this effort to ensure individuals and families have access to high-quality no-cost or low-cost devices that otherwise may not be within reach.”
To protect the personal data of individuals that send in their equipment, all hard drives and other storage media are either wiped and/or physically destroyed by Magnum Computer Recycling, an R2-Certified e-waste recycling and information technology asset disposition service provider based in Pennsauken, New Jersey. They are then refurbished and returned to service by the Electronic Access Foundation.
“We are looking forward to replicating this joint program with Digitunity in more cities across the country,” Napoli says.
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Source: Recycling Today
TERRA, Digitunity to improve digital equity in Philadelphia
<![CDATA[The Electronics Reuse & Recycling Alliance (TERRA), an electronics recycling organization based in Nashville, Tennessee, has formed a partnership with Digitunity, a national nonprofit company based in North Conway, New Hampshire, that aims to eliminate the technology gap, and Philadelphia-based PHLDonateTech to collect, refurbish and return devices to Philadelphia residents. The effort is part of TERRA’s “Done with IT” program that offers a convenient and secure mail-in option for laptops and tablets. Through this partnership, the shipping and refurbishment costs for the first 400 mail-in orders are being sponsored by Santander Bank. According to a news release from TERRA, 9 percent of Philadelphia households did not have a computer, laptop or other internet-connected devices before the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, the Mayor’s Fund for Philadelphia launched the PHLDonateTech program, which accepts donated computers and tablets for families and people in need across the city. “There are enough retired devices to close the digital divide,” says Steven Napoli, president and CEO of TERRA. “The process of getting them into the right hands just needs to be made simple and secure, and that’s what we’ve done.” Philadelphia-area residents within a 50-mile radius of the city can visit the PHLDonateTech page at Done…