Millions cut off from school, work and hospitalized loved ones; a national call for computer donations is launched.

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Apr 22, 2020, 11:43 ET

MADISON, N.H., April 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In every community across America, lack of access to computers is a critical problem nested within the COVID-19 crisis. National Cristina Foundation (NCF) is working to solve that urgent issue with a nationwide call to action for surplus computers. The Foundation is seeking large-scale corporate donations of new or decommissioned computers at www.DonateTechnology.org.

With communities working to combat the COVID-19 crisis, public access to computers has been virtually eliminated. Schools, libraries, community centers, and businesses are closed from coast-to-coast, and Americans have been forced to shelter at home. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a full fifth of American households do not possess an internet-connected computer; children are effectively cut off from school, older adults are cut off from banking and telehealth, and unemployed workers are cut off from work opportunities and access to unemployment benefits.

National Cristina Foundation is challenging companies and government agencies to rise to meet this critical need. "The immense supply of decommissioned equipment sitting in warehouses and IT closets could be a powerful answer to this crisis," says Executive Director Scot Henley. "There is an acute need for donated computers nationwide which will allow vulnerable populations to participate in school, work, healthcare, and community."

National Cristina Foundation is joined by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance and the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City on this campaign.

"Every day, good used laptops end up in a landfill or languish in warehouses as businesses and governments make upgrades," says Jeremy Hegle, Senior Community Development Advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. "There are many big, vexing, complicated issues related to COVID-19. This is not one of them. This, we can fix."

Interested donors can start the process at www.DonateTechnology.org. Donors will be matched to non-profit members of NCF's Alliance for Technology Refurbishing & Reuse. These non-profit refurbishers coordinate with donors on logistics arrangements, evaluate and refurbish the donated computers, convert non-working units into parts, and recycle the rest. These refurbished computers will be made available at no cost or low-cost to individuals, schools, and front-line organizations nationwide.

National Cristina Foundation is a nonprofit private operating foundation with a mission to close the digital divide so that people in need can participate fully in a digitally connected world. Learn more at www.cristina.org.