Their laptops are their rocket ships

by Mary Fuller, Co-founder and COO at Hack the Hood

Sponsor a laptop

I’ve met hundreds of young people in my role at Hack the Hood.  Each one has hopes and dreams unique to them.  And almost without fail, when they complete our bootcamps, they are motivated to take on some sort of moonshot journey.  For some, it’s being the first in their family to go to a 4 year college. For others, it’s getting a scholarship to an intensive coding bootcamp like General Assembly and then a paid internship at Adobe.  For others, it’s simply finding a home they can afford in the Bay Area.

Can you imagine achieving any of these goals without access to a computer?
 
Most of our young people don’t have their own computer when they start Hack the Hood.  In fact, a recent study found that half of low-income families in the Bay Area don’t have a computer in the home.  This puts young people at a disadvantage in school, work, and life.
 
In the words of Saladin, who’s participating in our Tech Prep Coding program right now, “[A laptop]allows us to gain skills and opportunities that can help lead us into the future. This is such a tiny little item that can make such a big difference.”
 
Today we’re launching a campaign to make sure each of the young people in our bootcamp this summer has access to a high-quality refurbished laptop powerful enough to fuel their moonshot journey. They’ll use that laptop to learn webdesign and development and then build a website for a small business in their community.  When they graduate, they'll take it home with them.  

We’re asking you and other supporters to sponsor laptops for our youth this summer.  We’ve already secured laptops for 70 youth, but we still need to raise $10,000 to purchase 50 more.  
 
That’s right- just under $200 can put a newly refurbished PC laptop with Windows 10 OS, and an i5 chip set into the hands of a young person who needs it right now.  
 
How did we find such an amazing deal?  We’re working with Tech Exchange, another awesome Oakland organization working to bridge the digital divide.  They take donations from tech companies, businesses, and individuals and then refurbish them and get them in the hands of low-income families, schools, and community centers.  

This means every dollar you donate or raise for this campaign has a 5X impact:

1. You empower a young person with the tech they need to reach their educational, career, and life goals.
2. You help Hack the Hood get the tech we need to operate 2 of the 8 bootcamps we're running this summer.
3. You help small businesses get a free web site to reach new customers and grow their business.
4. You help Tech Exchange supply more low-income youth with technology and get the revenue they need to grow their impact.
5. You help recycle laptops, which saves energy and prevents toxic chemicals from polluting our land and water.

I honestly can't think of a better way to give.  Will you get on board and help us rock this campaign?

Here's three EASY things you can do right away to make this campaign a success.

1) Start a fundraiser
It takes 3 minutes.  We've got a great video that will make your friends really want to give, and we've already drafted some copy for you. You can go with it, or customize it to tell your own story about why you're supporting this effort.  
Want to make an even bigger impact?  Start a team and invite your friends or co-workers to raise money with you.  The more people who get involved, the more likely we are to meet our goal! (It also makes it more fun!)

2) Make a donation
Make a tax-deductible donation today.  If you start a team, making your own donation is way to encourage your friends to give.

3) Share the message
We're posting our campaign on our Facebook and Twitter channels.  Please visit our page and share our posts.  Add your own message to encourge your connections to support this amazing effort.

We're so grateful to have such a tremendous community of supporters out there.  Thank you for all you've done to make our growth possible.  We absolutely could not do this without your support.  

​You're our hero.

join the campaign