Yesterday, I gave away my 100th device.

So, I'm making it easy for folks to dox me, but that doesn't matter. I'm a semi-retired consultant in the great Pacific Northwest, and after a few decades of working with larger universities/colleges, I was able to shift to a position with my local community college. Best decision ever. Money sucks, but not only do I get up knowing I'm helping people, but I get a boatload of paid time off and a pretty sweet pension. I digress. A little over a year ago, I was able (with a bunch of support from our board and administration) to start a program where our surplus, but still workable, laptops were given to our students that needed them. Yesterday, after a little over a year, we hit 100 devices getting into the hands of students. I keep a little book with tally marks. Today, we are at 103. 106. The process is fairly simple. When a staff or faculty member gets a new device, the old one is brought back to us. There, we have student workers physically clean, repair, and securely erase the device, remove it from Intune, then reload Windows 10/11, Office, and Zoom. Sometimes it takes a few laptops to make one to hand out. This is valuable experience for our FWS folks. In the end, we get the the devices to the best condition they can be. At that point, we make it available for a student. For no cost at all. No strings, no conditions. Just be a student in some form, and if you need a laptop, we’ll get it to you. Our 100th laptop went to an English as a Second Language student in Adult Basic Education. Number 101 went to a student learning accounting to support their new business. The goal is to support everyone trying to move forward. We are. We are absolutely honest and explain that these devices are at or near the end of their service life. But they can run Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. They can get to and use Google Docs. They can do Zoom. Even our old Intel Macs are sent out this way. These devices can help people succeed. If it breaks, or has problems, they can always trade it in for another. We have “new” stuff all the time. This is making a huge difference with our most vulnerable students. This is something that keeps students, well, students. It engages our FWS people and keeps them, well, engaged. They love helping their peers. Also, they gain real life skills for whatever comes next. Trust me, no matter how thick you think your skin is, you will be moved the first time you hand a device off. This really does more than you realize. It shows that not only does the school care, but the people that make the school function do. It is demonstrable proof that we want these people to succeed. That means a lot to folks. Technology shouldn’t be a barrier for students. This is a really great way to bypass that. Not just that, but we are keeping a ton of stuff out of landfills. When the device is done? Well, our FWS assistants ensure that the devices are properly prepared for safe disposal. Then we give them a new one. This. This is the best thing I've done professionally in over 30 years in the field. I've written papers, I've presented at conferences, I've designed and implemented systems for companies all over the US. Nothing compares to helping someone get to their next step. Nothing is as good as making sure that someone has the tool they need to just keep going. You guys can help. Talk to the local school. Offer up your old, serviceable gear. You can change a life. Hell, you can change everything for a family. I get to show people that the college is behind them. Even moreso, I get to demonstrate that the people behind the college are here too. You can too.