Blog « Kids on Computers

Kids on Computers is officially a federal 501(c)(3) organization!

Posted by stormy on August 18, 2010 · No Comments · Subscribe to blog

I got back from a business trip last month and was ecstatic to find a letter from the IRS saying that Kids on Computers is officially a US federal 501(c)(3) organization!!!

It’s retroactive to February 25, 2009. (We have been a Colorado nonprofit since our start but this gives us federal status.)

Having 501(c)(3) status will enable us to qualify for more grants and programs targeted at nonprofit organizations. It also helps establish people’s trust (they know you are doing a public good) and enables some people to deduct their donation from the money they pay taxes on.

Many thanks to Serena Robb who filled out all the paperwork for us! It was her first time filling out a 501(c)(3) federal application and she did a lot of research to make sure she got it right.

Welcome Smoky Hill High School students!

Posted by stormy on June 1, 2010 · No Comments · Subscribe to blog

Welcome to the Smoky Hill High School students working on their CAS projects!

We need you! We are working to set up computer labs for kids that have no other access to computers.

Our projects are creative, active and service projects.

We can use your help in everything from:

creating posters
designing tshirts
fundraising
collecting computers
installing the computers with Linux (no experience necessary)
packing up the computers for labs.

We will have our first kickoff meeting in June. If you would like to join us, please email Stormy Peters at stormy -at – kidsoncomputers -dot- org.

No experience necessary. There will be lots of fun things for everyone to do. If we get enough computers, we’ll dedicate a lab to Smoky Hill High School!

Working on computers in Huajuapan over the weekend

Posted by stormy on May 18, 2010 · No Comments · Subscribe to blog

Over the weekend, Hermes and some of his friends worked on the computers donated by “Caja Popular Mexicana”.

From Hermes:

Talking with Kees, another volunteer, we decided that the best way to use these computers is with LTSP. The computers are older and many don’t have a hard disk or they have a very small one.

My friend Mario David May Cuevas (maqquq) helped us. He is the guy from the lab on “El Jicaral”. My sister and my girlfriend also helped us.

My friends Efrén Sánchez Juárez (rootsan) with debian t-shirt and Ángel Rodolfo Pérez Canseco (ikkaro) working on a computer.

Over the weekend we set up 12 computers with LTSP, and they worked very well.

The repaired machines!

My friends rootsan, ikkaro and Mario David May Cuevas, next to the books.

Ikkaro sleeping in the car after a very busy weekend.

All the friends that work on the computers this weekend.

rootsan: Efrén Sánchez Juárez
maqquq: Mario David May Cuevas
ikkaro: Ángel Rodolfo Pérez Canseco
Gris: Griselda Legaria Ortega (my girlfriend)
Maguito: Margarita Esperanza Ojeda Ruiz (Hermes’ sister)
Thot: Me

We still need some DDR 233MHz sticks and PXE network cards. The best part of this weekend was the Pentium II (233Mhz) computer, running like a new computer, using LTSP.

Thanks to Kees for the memories sticks, they were really useful.

UPDATE: 25 of the computers from this batch are now working!

Kids on Computers Brochure

Posted by stormy on · No Comments · Subscribe to blog

Kids on Computers has a new brochure! Many thanks to Kees and Erin!

To print:

Download the brochure
Under Paper->Size, choose Borderless8.5x11in
Under Orientation, choose Landscape

Need your help to get computers to Mexico!

Posted by stormy on March 1, 2010 · One Comment · Subscribe to blog

Would you like to help install computers in Mexico or Argentina? We are looking for volunteers to help set up several computer labs.

No time? Consider helping out with money for shipping computers.

With help from many of you,we set up our first computer lab in a disadvantaged elementary school in the mountains near Oaxaca, Mexico last June. The project has been a tremendous success. The school has gone from being one of the poorest schools in town to being one of the most sought after. The parents, principal and teachers were all very actively involved. As part of their efforts to build the lab, the school has also gotten a new library as well as an office for the psychologist. (All the kids in the school have one or two parents living away from home.) The parents all chip in a few dollars a month now and they’ve hired a computer teacher. The teachers are delighted at the progress the kids are making not just with the technology but also in areas like writing. As soon as they get internet, they plan to open the lab up to the community in the evenings.

We now have 45 more computers to ship to schools in Mexico. But we don’t have money to ship them.

Please help us get these computers to kids without access to any technology in their lives.

$35-100 will ship a computer. Any size donation will help. You can donate through paypal to donations@kidsoncomputers.org, on our website http://www.kidsoncomputers.org/donate or by sending a check to Kids on Computers. (Email me at stormy -at- kids on computers -dot- org for the address.)

Thanks very much in advance for your help, whether it’s installing computers or helping with shipping. The kids, the parents, the teachers and the community thank you.

Kids On Computers Prepares for Argentina

Posted by kristen on January 18, 2010 · One Comment · Subscribe to blog

System76 and Kids On Computers team up to prepare computers going to a lab we’re sponsoring in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Computers are due to arrive in June of 2010.

"Village People"

Kids On Computers received hardware donations from several high-tech companies in the Colorado area to support this new lab. Around 30 laptops and 40 hard drives have been donated. These laptop shells and blank hard drives were in much need of an O/S and some software. Open Source to the rescue….Edubuntu, the Spanish install!!

Donated Hard Drives

Donated Laptops

After about 4 hours of downloading, swapping, and testing, these machines are ready to benefit the children of Argentina! A special THANK YOU to the staff at System76. Their experience as a Linux based retailer of hardware products and unique knowledge of Open Source came in handy when we ran into issues! Check out one of their netbooks, desktops, or servers at http://www.system76.com/.

Please help us with shipping costs by donating through the Kids On Computers website!!

Adding servers to our schools!

Posted by stormy on January 4, 2010 · No Comments · Subscribe to blog

Kyle from Tummy.com with the severs

I met Sean and Kyle from Tummy.com at the Northern Colorado Linux User Group. Kyle sent me an email afterwards asking if Kids on Computers could use some servers. Robin Kimsey is going to look into how we can best use them for teaching in the schools we are working with. (These schools typically do not have much power nor cooling nor a place separate from the computer lab to store computers.)

More computers for the kids!

Posted by stormy on December 16, 2009 · One Comment · Subscribe to blog

Here's a picture of Tim Kuhlman helping out...

Today we picked up 13 computers from RealGo in Fort Collins. RealGo are the folks behind www.coloproperty.com. They support and develop the online MLS software system for Colorado real estate professionals.

I met Colby Ackerfield at the Northern Colorado Linux User Group and he followed up the next day with an offer for computers for a school. These computers will be going to Mexico, either another school in Huajuapan de Leon or a school in Monterey.

Thanks for the computers, RealGo!

Kids on Computers needs a web designer!

Posted by stormy on December 9, 2009 · 7 Comments · Subscribe to blog

Kids on Computers needs a new web design. If we get it soon, we have a really cool hardware donation program that System76 is willing to launch with us for Christmas. (We also have 30 computers coming from Partimus that will go to schools in Mexico!)

Thanks, everyone, who has offered to help! I think we have lots of great potential and an awesome team!

Right now the website is pretty ugly. It’s just a WordPress blog that I set up:

We had a web designer that created this for us, but she doesn’t have time to implement it: (The logo was designed by Yolanda Castillo.)

If you know of someone that could help, point them our way. (They don’t have to work with this design.)

We are happy to give credit or help out with LinkedIn recommendations or recommendations with future clients. Or with thank you letters from the kids written on the first computers they’ve ever gotten to use!

It’d be a great Christmas present.

Parents were key to getting their school a computer lab

Posted by stormy on June 26, 2009 · No Comments · Subscribe to blog

Parent support was essential in getting a computer lab set up at the 18 de Marzo elementary school in Huajuapan. 18 de Marzo has a strong PTA that actively supports the school.

Previous 18 de Marzo PTA President

This woman is responsible for getting the new building set up. The new building houses a computer lab, library, teacher’s room, gym office and storage space and an office for the psychiatrist.

During her tenure the school got donated bricks and cement. The parents build the building that now houses the computer lab, the library, the teachers room, a storage room for the gym and an office for the psychiatrist.

If you are wondering why they need a psychiatrist, these kids face a lot of challenges. One of the main ones is that many of them have one or both parents in the United States, working to send money home.

President of the 18 de Marzo Parent Teacher Association

The previous PTA president (above) has three sons in the United States. Many families here have one or both parents gone for long periods of time working in the US. It’s hard on the kids.

Her daughter (right) is the current president of the PTA. While we were there, parents were hard at work building tables for the computer lab and the new library.

One day The PTA president gave us a ride home and she showed us her son’s school and said she was going to pick him up at 8:00pm! When I expressed surprise at the time, she said that his school is a school for working kids. They work in the morning to help their families out and then they go to school from 3:30-8:00pm. Her son works in a “bottle store”, a store that sells water, coke and other drinks.

The parents also made lunch for all of us everyday.

The parents brought in lunch for all the volunteers every day we were there.

The parents of 18 de Marzo are a hard working group and they worked very hard to get their kids access to a library and a computer lab. It wouldn’t have happened without them.

Parents build the building for the computer lab and library and many of the tables.

Kids on Computers