Difference between revisions of "Media Kit/Background"

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In April of 2000 Oso Martin was struggling to get his computer reuse and recycling idea off the ground. IHis garage was becoming cluttered with stuff, and it looked grim. All that changed when he met Richard Seymour and Laurel * at an Earth Day event he attended later that month. They provided new energy to a great idea and soon after a grant of $40,000 got them on their way. With one full time employee and a handful of volunteers they occupied a 2000 square foot storefront in SE Portland and began taking donations of unwanted technology and, where possible, fixed it up into usable computer systems that would go to people and organizations who had no access to computers. They needed a way to provide usability on lower end systems, while also being cheap. For this they used the GNU/Linux operating system and programs. This software suite was not just cheap, it was free, and it had many great programs anyone could take advantage of.  
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FREE GEEK is a 501(c)(3) not for profit community organization that recycles used technology to provide computers, education, internet access and job skills training to those in need in exchange for community service.
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Free Geek was founded in February 2000 (and incorporated as a 501(c)(3) in April 2000) to recycle computer technology and provide low and no-cost computing to individuals and not-for-profit and social change organizations in the community and throughout the world.
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In the years since its formation, Free Geek has recycled over 1,500 tons of electronic scrap and refurbished over 3,000 computer systems that are now in use by individuals and organizations in the community.
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Free Geek does most of this work with volunteers (at any given time, about 400 are active). The volunteers disassemble the donated equipment and test the components, which are either recycled as electronic scrap or recycled into refurbished systems. These refurbished computers are then loaded with Open Source Software, such as GNU/Linux, Open Office, and other Free Software.
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We are proud of being a democratically-run organization, and use consensus in our meetings. Our policy decisions are made by a group of volunteers and staff called the council, and those policies are executed by our staff collective.  Our board keeps an eye on our financial and legal decisions.
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If you want to learn more about FREE GEEK, please join one of the informative tours we offer at 11am and 4pm Tuesday through Saturday.
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To find out if there's a Free Geek in your area, check out this page.
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[[Category:Media Kit]]
 
[[Category:Media Kit]]

Latest revision as of 16:57, 11 June 2011

FREE GEEK is a 501(c)(3) not for profit community organization that recycles used technology to provide computers, education, internet access and job skills training to those in need in exchange for community service.

Free Geek was founded in February 2000 (and incorporated as a 501(c)(3) in April 2000) to recycle computer technology and provide low and no-cost computing to individuals and not-for-profit and social change organizations in the community and throughout the world.

In the years since its formation, Free Geek has recycled over 1,500 tons of electronic scrap and refurbished over 3,000 computer systems that are now in use by individuals and organizations in the community.

Free Geek does most of this work with volunteers (at any given time, about 400 are active). The volunteers disassemble the donated equipment and test the components, which are either recycled as electronic scrap or recycled into refurbished systems. These refurbished computers are then loaded with Open Source Software, such as GNU/Linux, Open Office, and other Free Software.

We are proud of being a democratically-run organization, and use consensus in our meetings. Our policy decisions are made by a group of volunteers and staff called the council, and those policies are executed by our staff collective. Our board keeps an eye on our financial and legal decisions.

If you want to learn more about FREE GEEK, please join one of the informative tours we offer at 11am and 4pm Tuesday through Saturday.

To find out if there's a Free Geek in your area, check out this page.

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