A local company is providing a unique service that repurposes old technology and puts used computers in the hands of charitable organizations.
donateIT is a not-for-profit company that helps corporate Calgary dispose of used technology safely and maximizes their community outreach.
Ken Zimmer and Boris Bersilot work on the computers that are donated to them.
"We actually do certified data wipes on all the equipment and that's mainly where we get our funding is through the higher level workings we do with the clients," said Zimmer.
donateIT's technology outreach program makes sure that donations are re-purposed correctly, without any social, environmental, or legal risks to the donors.
Many companies change out their computer systems as new technology emerges but charities are lucky if they can replace out dated equipment every ten years.
Ken Zimmer says he can't believe what some charities are using in their offices.
"We've been seeing CRT monitors that are 15 inch and they don't even have a P4 computer, 10, 12, 15 years old, it's sad," said Zimmer.
Derek Evans is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Pengrowth Energy Corporation and knows how desperate some Calgary charities are for new technology.
"If you've spent any time there recently, they're running models of computers that you've never seen in the last ten years and if you think you're frustrated banging away on your high tech computer, can you imagine how frustrated they must be trying to achieve any sort of meaningful results in a short period of time," said Evans.
Evans says Pengrowth has been working on repurposing equipment since 2009 and just gave 100 computers to donateIT.
Zimmer says he has a partnership with Microsoft to make sure charities have complete operating systems and donateIT provides support to the charities after delivery.
For more information, visit the donateIT website.
