`Computers for Kids’ seeks older equipment

With new computer technology on the market nearly every day, is it any wonder your equipment can become outdated in the blink of an eye? If that’s your problem — if you have old computers you cannot use, or computers incompatible with advances in the industry because you upgraded old equipment — don’t let them out of your sight until you’ve spoken with Matt St. Thomas of Old Town.

A software engineer at MicroKnowledge of Bangor, Thomas wants to hear from you. He will take those old computers, refurbish them, fix them up, and donate them to local organizations that serve children. The company has made such a commitment to “Computers for Kids” — the brainchild of owner Dan Libby — that Thomas has been allotted 20 hours a week to do the work.

“This was Dan’s idea,” Thomas said. “With all the upgrades on computers, with Windows 95 coming out and programs just needing more horsepower, a lot of companies are finding their old ones worthless and they’ve been so depreciated that they’re just throwing them away.

“Well, instead of throwing them away, we’re taking them in and giving them away.”

Old computers that haven’t worked for a while still have value. “People may think they can’t be made usable, but we can at least use the parts to make others work. Even if it’s old and doesn’t run, it is still valuable.”

In just three weeks, Thomas has refurbished 25 computers. Organizations such as the Bangor YMCA, Bangor-Brewer YWCA, the Abnaki Girl Scout Council, Downeast Big Brothers-Big Sisters and St. Michael’s Center are among the child-oriented organizations Thomas hopes will benefit from the program.

Right now, though, Thomas is getting a little leg-weary and would like to spend more time fixing computers than finding them. “I’ve been visiting all these places,” he said of his start inquiring if computers were needed at the YMCA.

“They sent me to the United Way of Eastern Maine and Norma Proulx has been my backbone, helping me out getting this going,” Thomas said of Proulx’s leads and ideas of where to go and how to get his message to people.

“That’s the reason I’m here,” he said sitting in our office last week. “We want people to know about the program. We want to talk with people who need computers, and people who have computers.”

The turnaround time from receipt to placement “can be as little as three or four days, or as high as a few weeks, depending on whether it needs software or hardware work,” Thomas said. Although he is the project’s leader, “a number of people in the office have volunteered their time to help me,” he said of getting the computers to those who need them as soon as possible.

Personally, he has found the project rewarding because now when he goes home at night, he can swap children stories with his wife, Kimberly, a second-grade teacher at Lewis Libby School in Milford.

“We are looking for many more computers,” Thomas said. “We want people and companies to know we need donations. In all honesty, it’s easier to throw them out than to hunt them down, but if people would just take the time to make a phone call, I’ll pick it up, do the rest, and deliver it.”

While this offer is available now only in the Bangor-Brewer area, Thomas hopes he soon will be expanding it. “There are plenty of kids out there who need computers,” he said.

If you have a computer you don’t want or can’t use, or if your organization wants one, just call Thomas as 945-5788. We congratulate MicroKnowledge management for creating a wonderful program from which everyone should benefit.

Plan to attend Bangor’s first CD release party from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 20, at the Bangor Airport Marriott. The Bangor trio of Pat Cummings, Darlene Mogul and Penny Weinstein has recorded its first CD, “The Memphis Belles Take Flight.” The event, which is free to the public, includes a visit by the original Memphis Belle B-17 bomber pilot, Col. Robert Morgan, and his wife, Linda, and a silent auction of B-17 Memphis Belle memorabilia. The Memphis Belle left Bangor in September 1942 and became the first B-17 to successfully complete and survive 25 missions over Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. For information on Thursday’s event, call Cummings at 945-0969.

Congratulations to the pupils of Mary Snow School in Bangor for raising $1,000 for “Renewing Today, Building Tomorrow, the Campaign for the Bangor Public Library.”

On Monday they presented Anne Mundy, head of BPL children’s services, with a check that entitles the pupils to have a tile bearing their school name placed on the library’s new Community Wall connecting the old and new structures.

The campaign still needs $244,000 to obtain a $480,000 Kresge Challenge Grant and complete the $8.5 million capital campaign.

The Standpipe, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402; 990-8288.