General Form Response
This is the form response sent out to prospective volunteers who email Volunteer@ with questions.
Thank you for your interest in our mission and your commitment to the community!
Anyone who wants to volunteer time at FREE GEEK and can make it to our facility is welcome. No computer experience is required. Our facility is mostly handicapped-accessible, and we are sensitive to and can work with people with different abilities.
LOCATION: The FREE GEEK Community Technology Center is at 1731 SE 10th Avenue (2 blocks south of Hawthorne).
HOURS and TOURS: We are open from 11am to 7pm, Tuesday through Saturday. We are closed on Sunday and Monday. Tours are offered at noon and six pm every day we're open, and are required for potential volunteers. You do not need an appointment for a tour.
KIDS and YOUNG ADULTS: Those younger than 16 years old must volunteer with a supervising adult. We welcome children at our facility, as long as they will be able to work alongside you.
PROGRAMS: For more information on the programs below, please have a look at http://www.freegeek.org/volunteer.php and follow the links.
ADOPT A COMPUTER: If you are interested in receiving a computer system in exchange for 24 hours of community service, come down for a tour and we'll answer your questions and sign you up.
All community service is done at FREE GEEK, and consists of helping us to receive donated equipment, disassemble computer parts, test components, and perform other special work as necessary to the running of FREE GEEK. No computer experience is required; FREE GEEK will show you how to do any of the volunteer jobs we ask of you.
BUILD PROGRAM: If you are interested in learning to build computers from reclaimed parts and install GNU/Linux on them, the Build Program is the place for you. There are no requirements for the Build Program aside from the commitment to build six FreekBoxes at FREE GEEK. Build is a very popular program, so there might not be room for you on the schedule right away (many builders have to wait a week or so before there's room for them to volunteer). Long-time computer hobbyists and absolute beginners are both welcome. Those who are interested in eventually helping to teach build are especially welcome! For more info on the Build Program, visit http://wiki.freegeek.org/index.php/Build.
OTHER VOLUNTEERING: For those not interested in a free computer, but who just want to help out, share their knowledge, or do community service, we have myriad tasks you could do. We need volunteers to help with both technical and non-technical functions, from day-to-day organization and maintenance to coding, designing testing systems, teaching, writing documentation or grants, or coordinating and training other volunteers.
People interested in volunteering their skills outside of the Adoption or Build programs should stop by for a tour or write to volunteer at freegeek.org for more information. Because these tasks are not part of any organized program, they do require a certain amount of self-reliance, flexibility, creativity and cooperation.
COMPUTERS AND EQUIPMENT: The computers we have available at this time in exchange for 24 hours of volunteer time are called FreekBoxes. You can find the specifications ("How fast will it go? How big is the hard drive? What does it come with?") at the following web address: http://freegeek.org/freekbox.php
All computers are loaded with the GNU/Linux operating system and many other programs, including a word processor, a web browser and an email program. Each computer comes with a introductory class on how to use it. To find out more about GNU/Linux, the operating system we use on our computers, visit http://www.linux.org/info/faq1.html
FreekBox computers are the only equipment we give in exchange for volunteer hours (no exceptions). Active volunteers do, however, get a 50% discount on most equipment in the thrift store.
COMMUNITY SERVICE AND INTERNSHIPS: A number of people choose to do community service at FREE GEEK. We can provide letters to verify time spent at FREE GEEK if necessary.
Some schools offer credit for internships. We are willing to work with your school to make your internship interesting and fruitful for you. We may not be able to satisfy all requests, but there are any number of things you can do. To learn more about our available internships and how to apply, please visit http://www.freegeek.org/internships.
FREE GEEK Community Technology Center
1731 SE 10th Avenue
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 232-9350
11a-7p Tu - Sa
www.freegeek.org