Media Kit/3Free

Putting discarded computers and computer parts back into use is the core of Free Geek's mission. We are often described as a "recycling" organization, we are - but wherever possible, we strive to find ways to reuse things, before we resort to the hammer and chisel, and separating the metals from the plastics.

Many of our volunteers already have some experience bringing an old computer back to life: collecting "dead" PCs from friends and relatives after they've been cast aside, and finding a way to make them useful again.

At Free Geek, we have created an environment where we can restore computers with incredible efficiency. How is it possible? Read on to learn about our "three frees": free hardware, free software, and free labor.

free hardware

Free Geek has received well over 30,000 donated computer systems (and similiar numbers of monitors and printers) over five years.

Though they are often cast off as junk, many of these are easily repaired. And because of the huge number of systems, we have lots of spare parts. This makes it possible to replace broken parts, or upgrade components, without incurring any cost.

(sidebar -> For many of our volunteers, this can be one of the most difficult ideas to get used to. Consider a woman spent an entire day trying to get her network card working on her home computer. She comes to work for a conservation-oriented organization; the last thing that occurs to her is to toss a network card and replace it with another one. But with boxes full of network cards that even *we* can't find homes for, that's generally the best course of action!)

And the payoff is apparent: one in every five computers "disposed of" at Free Geek has been put back to use. Our volunteers, thrift store customers, and fellow non-profits are reaping the benefits every day.

free software

Computer hardware is great stuff, but without software to make it run, it's not good for much.

The word "software," most generally, means the instructions that tell the hardware how to do stuff. Operating systems (like Windows, Mac OS X, and GNU/Linux) are examples of software, as are programs (like Word, Excel, Firefox, iTunes.)

Most of the software you're probably familiar with is "proprietary" - a company or person owns the rights to it, and you pay them (or at least agree to some conditions) for the right to use it. And if it doesn't work quite the way you want, there's not much you can do about it.

At Free Geek, we only use free software. It saves us money - but it's not just a money thing. The entire development process, in which the operating system and programs are created and refined, is open to participation by anyone in the world. That means that we're able to customize the system to closely match the hardware it's running on, and the expected needs of the person who will be using it.

In the very early days, we didn't expect to use free software. We thought maybe Microsoft Windows 95 would be suitable for the older hardware we'd be using.

With the benefit of hindsight, though, it is now clear that it would be extraordinarily difficult, to say the least, to use proprietary software and do what we do. There are three reasons:

• financial cost of the software licenses
• administrative burden of keeping track of software licenses
• legal and practical impossibility of customizing the software to work well on older PCs

Any one of these factors on its own might be a dealbreaker; but compared with the enormous benefits of free software, it's a no-brainer.

free help

All that hardware, and the software to run it, would be of little use if there weren't people testing, disassembling, reassembling, writing software. Not to mention responding to emails, running phone cables through the walls, sweeping the floors, researching unusual equipment, moving boxes of stuff…and the list goes on, but you get the idea!

That's where our volunteers come in. And do they ever come in: every month, about 200 new volunteers sign up for their first shift, joining many other long-term volunteers.

Free Geek currently has 13 full-time staffers, but paid staff's main task is to provide structure and organizational support. The XXXX + hours logged each month by our dedicated volunteers are where the real work gets done.

So, where do all these volunteers come from? Why do they do it? Well, ask 20 volunteers, and you'll probably get 20 different answers. Because there is no end to the benefits people get from volunteering here.

Many initially come for a free computer, but the reasons they stay are even more compelling:

• learning - and gaining résumé-ready experience - in the following areas:
  • installing and using software (word processor, web browser, email, spreadsheet)
  • writing software (programming)
  • repairing, sorting, diagnosing computer hardware
  • teaching classes
  • providing technical support by phone, email
  • customer service: answering questions, matching people with internal resources
  • recycling, environmental issues
  • consensus-driven decision making

• opportunity to "make a difference" in our society
• sense of community, shared accomplishment
• opportunity to paricipate in significant decisions (consensus-driven policies)