“Most retired people don’t have a hobby. I have a hobby I love,” Allen Young said Thursday.
And he is using his hobby to help school kids across southern Oklahoma.
Young, who lives in Ardmore, collects old computers and then refurbishes and donates them.
With some exceptions, his computers go to a single-parent or two-parent, one-income household with children in the first through ninth grade so that the children can complete homework.
He also gives computers to elderly people on Social Security or Supplemental Security Income.
The program began in November 2007 when Young found out about neighbors who needed a computer for their young daughter to do her homework.
Young went to computer school in 1966 and since then has taught himself to work with newer computers.
Young finds most of the families he donates to through word of mouth and by posting notices on the Ardmore Freecycle Web site.
The Ardmore Freecycle is an online group dedicated to cutting down on the amount of things put in the landfill by giving unwanted items away.
Young has given computers to families in Carter, Murray, Marshall, Love and Johnston counties.
“I pray about it and then make a decision on who needs it the most,” Young said about his selection system.
The computers given out include a keyboard and mouse and are Internet-ready with free antivirus software.
A computer was given to a young man who is working his way through school.
Another computer was given to an elderly couple whose adult children regularly have to visit them, and the grandchildren use the computer for homework.
“It is a special blessing when they get handed out,” Young said.
His original goal was two computers a month. “This grew faster than I did,” said Young, who has since given out 94 refurbished computers.
The most he has done in one month is 16.
His goal for 2009 is to refurbish and give out 150 computers or more during the next year.
It can take Young anywhere from three hours to three weeks to fix a computer, depending on the amount of viruses on the hard drive.
The computer parts that Young works with are donated, and if need be, he picks up the donations himself.
He has traveled as far north as Pauls Valley and south to Gainesville, Texas, to collect donations.
He has trouble getting decent hard drives and towers, he said.
Jennifer Lindsey, 221-6526
jennifer.lindsey@ardmoreite.com
