SEPTEMBER 2015 HIGHLIGHTS

Sept 29 – We are honored to have recently provided the Canadian Fallen Heroes Foundation with a donation of 8 laptops. Steven Hall shares how the donation allows their organization to better honor Canadian soldiers. Please click on the image to view the interview.

Sept 23 – Join us tomorrow at Kwantlen University’s Surrey campus for an e-waste collection and data destruction event! We will be set up in inside the main building along with members of the Student’s Association and Reboot, the campus’ computer repair service. Looking forward to seeing you there!

Sept 15 – In recognition of the start of a new school year, we’ve partnered Kwantlen Student Association (KSA)  to host an electronics collection and data destruction event for students, residents and businesses of Surrey, BC. Individuals are invited to bring in unwanted electronic equipment to be confidentially recycled. We will have one of our hard drive shredder onsite to physically destroy hard drives.  The KSA’s REBOOT computer repair service will on-site offering advice for repairable computers.

For more details, please click here

Sept 9 – We recently provided Vancouver Native Health Society with 3 desktop computer systems for use in their clinics.
This photo shows the clinic’s recently donated digital panoramic machine, a machine managed by one of the computers donated by ERA.
Thanks for the photo, and keep up the great work!

Sept 9 – ERA has a long term relationship with the Isa Mundo Foundation and has donated dozens of computers to support their programs. Most recently, ERA provided 7 small laptops.
“Here are some pics of ERA donated laptops from Nicaragua. We partnered with Soccer without Borders to start a small tech learning centre in Granada.
Thanks again for your help and those smaller ones are really good and easier to ship. So if you have other netbooks style ones, we will keep expanding these centre all over the world.

Little Mountain Neighbourhood House provides educational, cultural, recreational, and social services for the wider community of Little Mountain and Riley Park.

Sept 9 – We have partnered with Kwantlen University Student’s Association to host an electronic waste drive along with free hard drive shredding during welcome to campus week. On September 24, 2015, we will be onsite at Kwantlen University Surrey campus( 12666 72 Ave, Surrey BC –  in the main courtyard) from 11am to 2pm. Students, faculty, local businesses and the general public are welcome to come out and take in the festivities, as the Student’s Union has planned a great welcome week. Bring unwanted equipment with you (accepted items include: computers, laptops, monitors, tablets, phones, gaming equipment, stereo equipment, printers, servers, keyboards and other peripherals and most computer parts), we will shred your hard drive onsite and recycle or reuse the equipment. We hope to see you there!

Sept 3. We are looking forward to spending the long weekend at CrossIron Mills! If you are in the area doing some shopping, make sure to stop by and say hello! We will be accepting unwanted electronics for recycling or reuse, and will also have a ballot for you to fill  out to be entered into a draw for some fun prizes! For full hours, please click here.

Claudia from Canadian Mental Health, National dropped by to pick up this laptop for one of her clients, an individual on AISH hoping to upgrade her post secondary accounting and payroll/administration skills. The recipient is also a writer, and will use the laptop for creative writing – a positive outlet for her mental health.

We were happy to receive this photo from Suzanne at the International Institute of Child Rights and Development (IICRD)

The IICRD is a unique hybrid organization: part non-governmental organization (NGO), part academic institution, located in Victoria, British Columbia (BC), focused on social innovation with and for children and youth. For the past 20 years, IICRD has been a bridge building organization working with a wide variety of partners in participatory, applied research, professional education, and community capacity building initiatives. Their programs and projects catalyze change, transformation, and healing for the most vulnerable young people in our society, in Canada and in over 30 countries around the world.

Natalie from Momentum stopped by yesterday to pick up a donation for one of her clients. Natalie told us a bit about the donation recipient:

“The client is a participant in the Women’s Venture Start-Up program, which is designed to help women who live on low income to increase their income potential and lift themselves out of poverty. She has been participating in our program here at Momentum (a community economic development not-for-profit) for the past 3 months. She helps care for both her father and her granddaughter as a part of her family obligations. She has experiences challenges beyond most of my participants in that she does not have access to a reliable computer at home so has had to use one at the library or here at Momentum.This makes the time that she can spend on panning her business very limited – (she needs) access to a computer in order to allow her to stay in the program…”

We are happy to have helped ensure she can stay in the program!

Thanks to Providence Crosstown Clinic for sending these photos of recent laptop donation recipients and a bit more about them!
“I delivered the latest laptops yesterday evening and the recipients were thrilled. Bruce has never owned a laptop or any kind of computer before, and you can see how excited he is. Some of our other clients and the folks at the Learning Exchange are going to help him on his journey in learning how to use it. Sam had been borrowing his brother’s laptop for a while and really, really happy to finally have one of his own. He has offered to help Bruce with the basics and both are very pleased and would like to extend their thanks! Thanks to you and ERA from all of us at the Crosstown”
– Amanda, Crosstown Clinic – Providence Health Care

We are loking forward to our second of three events with Chinook Centre this weekend, and have some exciting things up for grabs for those who drop off their unwanted equipment! Both Apple and Microsoft have provided gift cards which will be given away as prizes to two lucky individuals.
Come out, drop off your e-waste and get your name in for the draw! More information available here

It was a fantastic day yesterday for ERA’s 5th annual Appreciation and Awareness golf tournament! Thanks to everyone who made it out to enjoy the (mostly dry) festivities, and to all of our valued sponsors whose contributions helped make the day unforgettable!

We recently received some photos and the story of a young lady who was the recipient of a donated computer who, despite her own challenges, strives to give back in meaningful ways:
“Our 25 year old daughter, Tara, is supported by Creative Options Regina (COR) in a home which she shares with another young lady with a disability (technically a’group home’ but we prefer to call it Tara & her room-mate’s home – after all we don’t call our homes the bank’s home!). Their house is staffed 24/7 to help the young women live as independent as possible. Tara has Kabuki syndrome. As such she has an intellectual disability and autistic-type sensory impairments. We have found some ideal activities that give her purpose and a sense of fulfillment. Among those are delivering Meals on Wheels, picking up recyclables from various businesses, watering community gardens, and photography.
We think she would greatly benefit from a computer at her home to enable her to further her photography, including ease of sending the photos for printing. ln addition, a computer would allow Tara to develop schedules and calendars, both which are so important in giving her some control over her days.
lnitially the support staff will guide Tara and her room-mate in the use of the computer, with the hope that they will gradually become more independent with its use!”