Getting rid of old computers at home and offices is a task by itself. What if donation structures are built around old PCs that in turn support NGOs? Abhishek Asthana Co-Founder of ‘DonateYoutPC’ (DYPC) shares more details about this initiative.
What is DonateYour PC initiative is all about? How did it start and what was the motivation behind it?
DonateYourPC.in is a platform to bring together people (in India) who want to donate their PC and Computer Peripheral donors with NGOs/Schools and people who need computers for education and empowerment. The motivation was to promote reuse of PCs which just gather dust lying in homes, waiting for some cousin or relative to be handed over to. There were skeptics who believe that no one would donate their old hardware but we have learnt that it is not so!
Who are your target consumers? How did you connect with them?
We have two broad categories of 'consumers': donors and requesters.
We want to cater to anyone who intends to donate their old (but perfectly working!) hardware for a good cause and anyone who intends to use these donated equipments for the same reason. Till now most of publicity has been through emails and word-of-mouth.
We have informal channels set up with some NGOs, and are willing to get in touch with many more NGOs and other organizations small and big, who are willing to use the equipments that our donors may be willing to donate. Right now we are focusing on reaching more individuals and corporates who are willing to donate their hardware through DYPC.
What kind of computers and peripherals that can be donated?
Anything which is still in usable condition can be donated. Since CPUs without monitor, mouse or keyboard are of no use, we encourage donors to donate peripherals as well. You can donate Mouse, Printer, Monitor, Keyboard, Speakers, UPS or any other peripheral.
In countries like India, where supply chain is not well established, what are the challenges you foresee in shipping computers between places?
That's right. We do face logistical problems, when we get requests from non-metro towns, in some cases we are unable to find transportation
for the computers to be sent to such places. We are willing to talk to cargo/logistic companies who might be interested in supporting us in
this noble cause by arranging transportation of these equipments.
Can you share some success stories for your initiative?
Our first transfer was in Hyderabad when a lady working in Oracle Hyderabad donated her old PC to Premalayam, an NGO I have been associated with. As a matter of fact, all the transfers till now have been done in Hyderabad only, however very soon Bangalore is going to witness a bulk transfer. Few more transfer processes (from individual donors) are underway in Hyderabad.
But I think the best was a donation offer from an American gentleman in Florida. It came as complete surprise!
Can you please tell more about your team? How are you structured? Is it a funded organization?
We have a core team which makes most of the decisions. Apart from the core team, there are a number of volunteers in different cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Lucknow and of course Bangalore and Hyderabad, who give their opinion on various issues. These volunteers are also responsible for
Company URL: http://www.donateyourpc.in
What is DonateYour PC initiative is all about? How did it start and what was the motivation behind it?
DonateYourPC.in is a platform to bring together people (in India) who want to donate their PC and Computer Peripheral donors with NGOs/Schools and people who need computers for education and empowerment. The motivation was to promote reuse of PCs which just gather dust lying in homes, waiting for some cousin or relative to be handed over to. There were skeptics who believe that no one would donate their old hardware but we have learnt that it is not so!
Who are your target consumers? How did you connect with them?
We have two broad categories of 'consumers': donors and requesters.
We want to cater to anyone who intends to donate their old (but perfectly working!) hardware for a good cause and anyone who intends to use these donated equipments for the same reason. Till now most of publicity has been through emails and word-of-mouth.
We have informal channels set up with some NGOs, and are willing to get in touch with many more NGOs and other organizations small and big, who are willing to use the equipments that our donors may be willing to donate. Right now we are focusing on reaching more individuals and corporates who are willing to donate their hardware through DYPC.
What kind of computers and peripherals that can be donated?
Anything which is still in usable condition can be donated. Since CPUs without monitor, mouse or keyboard are of no use, we encourage donors to donate peripherals as well. You can donate Mouse, Printer, Monitor, Keyboard, Speakers, UPS or any other peripheral.
In countries like India, where supply chain is not well established, what are the challenges you foresee in shipping computers between places?
That's right. We do face logistical problems, when we get requests from non-metro towns, in some cases we are unable to find transportation
for the computers to be sent to such places. We are willing to talk to cargo/logistic companies who might be interested in supporting us in
this noble cause by arranging transportation of these equipments.
Can you share some success stories for your initiative?
Our first transfer was in Hyderabad when a lady working in Oracle Hyderabad donated her old PC to Premalayam, an NGO I have been associated with. As a matter of fact, all the transfers till now have been done in Hyderabad only, however very soon Bangalore is going to witness a bulk transfer. Few more transfer processes (from individual donors) are underway in Hyderabad.
But I think the best was a donation offer from an American gentleman in Florida. It came as complete surprise!
Can you please tell more about your team? How are you structured? Is it a funded organization?
We have a core team which makes most of the decisions. Apart from the core team, there are a number of volunteers in different cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Lucknow and of course Bangalore and Hyderabad, who give their opinion on various issues. These volunteers are also responsible for
- Helping the beneficiaries in installation and support of hardware/software.
- Giving introductory training to beneficiaries about computer handling, if required.
- Doing Background check of requestors and their requirements.
Company URL: http://www.donateyourpc.in
1 comments
Farhat
Jul 29th, 2010 02:18 PM
Sir, I represent The Streisand Foundation which is a social organization working towards uplifting the slum youth who do not get proper education and are wandering around. We give training to such students in different areas like house keeping, customer care, driving for boys, etc so they could fit any one of the professions and can live a better life. With that regard we have requirement for computers and if any body could help us then kindly contact us through mail at operations@streisands.com
