For more than 16 years, WCE has benefited from the work of volunteers in the Washington/ Baltimore area. Over that time, this chapter has shipped more than 6,500 computers to 440 schools and charities for children in Africa, Asia and Latin America that have connected over 700,000 youth over the years. Our biggest recent delivery — more than 350 computers — went to Madagascar (read story), where Peace Corps workers helped get the equipment up and running for young people. In 2016 and 2017, smaller shipments went to Haiti, Honduras, Kenya, and Peru. Our next shipment is to Ganta, Liberia.
Chapter Volunteer Opportunities
To build on that success, the chapter is always looking for volunteers — which means we’re looking for you. If you are interested, please complete our Volunteer Form and email it to Volunteer@WorldComputerExchange.org.
On the second Saturday of every month during the academic year from 11 AM to 3 PM, we meet at:
UMBC Training Centers
6996 Columbia Gateway Drive, Suite 100
Columbia, MD 21046
This event is an excellent chance to learn about WCE, whether you’re an IT professional or a novice, whether you’re a high school student looking to earn community service credits or you’re a retired person who appreciates the value of what we do.
Here’s the schedule for the next 2 months:
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These monthly events form the core of our work, but they reflect only a portion of our activities. We need volunteers to raise our profile on social media, to contact businesses and individuals who have surplus equipment, to help us cover our expenses, to improve the educational content that we load onto each computer. For the coming year, we are paying particular attention to two projects: a pilot program expanding WCE’s presence in Puerto Rico and a Computers for Girls initiative that we’re launching in several African countries. Read more about WCE volunteer opportunities…
| Location | Columbia, Maryland | |
| Coordinator | Tom Graham and Lou Hauf, Lead Tech | |
| TGraham@WorldComputerExchange.org | ||
| Drop Off | Please call first: 410-997-3395. We only accept computer donations of Dual Core computers and more recent |
Please read Donate Computers for a list of the gear that we can use.
For drop-offs or to arrange pickups, please e-mail or call Tom Graham. We can sometimes make pick-ups in the Washington area of 10 computers or more. We ask for, but do not require, a donation of $10 per computer to help cover our storage and transportation costs.
If we end up with equipment which fails to meet our standards we recycle computers through R2 or eSteward Certified Recyclers.
A few years ago, WCE’s local chapter was recognized as one of the best small charities in the Washington area by the Catalogue for Philanthropy. This “Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval” is a signal to prospective donors that WCE pursues its mission in a transparent and efficient manner. We were pleased to receive this designation, and we believe it’s a vote of confidence that can make our fundraising efforts more successful as we continue to seek assistance.
Chapter Leadership
- Tom Graham, Chairman, WCE Board of Directors
- Lou Hauf, WCE Washington/Baltimore Lead Tech
- Stephen Sena, WCE Regional Manager for the Middle East & North Africa
- Susan Schneider
Student Tech Club
One of our student volunteers, Jaylan Garrick, spoke about World Computer Exchange early in 2017 with members of his Alpha Achievers group at Hammond High School in Howard County. As a result, Achievers are now a regular presence at WCE’s monthly refurbishing events. To strengthen that link, Jaylan organized an event at Hammond where Achievers with few computer skills received basic instruction and immediately used that knowledge to inspect and repair equipment being prepared for shipment overseas.
In September 2017, a groups of young chapter volunteers started a student tech club at Long Reach High School in Columbia, Maryland.
“This is the sort of youth-to-youth connection that we are encouraging throughout World Computer Exchange,” said WCE president Timothy Anderson. “In Puerto Rico, we have high school students driving our efforts to find equipment, to make it fully functional and to load it with the educational content that will make it most useful for young people. The more we can do to make computers valuable, the better off these communities will be.”
WCE volunteer leaders, Susan Schneider plans to bring WCE equipment and volunteers to her Samaritan Women clients. More information on this new Chapter project coming soon.
In June and July of 2016, WCE provided equipment for the Howard County educators who were organizing Girls Who Code events. And one of our student volunteers, Makayla Heintz, served as an assistant for the Girls Who Code summer camp.
In August 2015, WCE offered a presentation and training session to participants in Howard County’s Community Action Council summer youth program. This was organized by volunteer Susan Schneider.
In 2015, WCE visited the program that seeks to broaden opportunities for students at Meade High School in Anne Arundel County. “We’re happy to train people to refurbish equipment,” said Lou Hauf, head tech for WCE’s local chapter. “It gives them a skill that could lead to a rewarding career, and it helps WCE prepare computers for the folks we’re helping overseas. Everybody wins!”
Chapter Shipments
Sep’16: 51 computers to 1 school in Haiti that will connect 700 students over the years
Aug’16: 4 computers to 1 school in Kenya that will connect 350 students over the years
Jun’16: 8 computers to 2 schools in Peru that will connect 500 students over the years
Jun’16: 8 computers to 1 school in Honduras that will connect 350 students over the years
Apr’16: 365 computers to 22 schools in Madagascar assisted by Peace Corps Volunteers that will connect 69,475 students over the years
Mar’16: 20 computers to 1 school in Kenya that will connect 875 students over the years
Aug’14: 93 computers to 1 school in Kenya that have connected 350 students over the years
Nov’13: 10 computers to 1 school in Mali that has connected 700 students over the years
May’13: 271 computers to 7 schools in Tanzania that have connected 8,050 students over the years
Dec’12: 8 computers to 1 school in Haiti that have connected 280 students over the years
Jan’12: 7 computers to 1 school in Haiti that have connected 140 students over the years
May’11: 230 computers to 7 schools in Tanzania that have connected 10,500 students over the years
Apr’10: 241 computers to 7 schools in Tanzania that have connected 7,000 students over the years
Apr’09: 207 computers to 8 schools in Kenya that have connected 17,500 students over the years
Aug’08: 11 computers to a Rotary Club in Mexico that have connected 38 students with disabilities over the years
Nov’07: 147 computers to 6 schools in the Democratic Republic of Congo that have connected 10,500 students over the years
Jul’07: 223 computers to 17 schools assisted by a Kiwanis Club in Jamaica that have connected 35,000 students over the years
Jun’07: 6 computers to 1 school in Lithuania that have connected 1,050 students over the years
May’07: 23 replacement computers to Bolivia as a follow-up to the below shipment
Oct’06: 211 computers to 10 schools in Tanzania that have connected 11,935 students over the years
Mar’06: 405 computers to 50 schools in El Salvador that have connected 52,500 students over the years
Nov’05: 10 computers to one school in Bolivia as part of a shipment assisted by a Peace Corps Volunteer that has connected 1,400 students over the years
Oct’05: 351 computers to 20 schools assisted by Peace Corps Volunteers in Guatemala that have connected 35,000 students over the years
Jul’05: 6 containers totaling 2,400 computers to 180 schools in Zambia that have connected 315,000 students over the years
Jun’05: 450 computers to 10 schools in Nigeria that have connected 42,000 students over the years
Jun’05: 220 computers to 15 schools in Nigeria that have connected 43,750 students over the years
Mar’05: 70 computers to 15 schools in Ecuador that have connected 24,500 students over the years
Jul’04: 220 computers to 43 schools in Ecuador that have connected 9,800 students over the years
Nov’03: 220 computers to 15 schools in Ecuador that have connected 7,000 students over the years
WCE Washington/Baltimore: Honor Roll of donors
- AECOM International Development
- All Bases Covered (Virginia)
- American Association of Advertising Agencies
- American Association of Health Plans
- American Dental Association
- BAE Systems
- Beveridge & Diamond, P.C.
- British Airways
- Capitol Health
- Creig Northrop Team of Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc
- CGI Group
- Colonial Healthcare, Inc.
- Conservation International
- Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
- DigitalNet Government Solutions
- Downey McGrath Group
- EIN Communications
- Embedded Systems Consulting (Virginia)
- Enterprise Foundation (Maryland)
- Environmental Literacy Council
- Eurasia Foundation
- Fenton Communications
- General Motors
- Georgetown University
- Grafik (Virginia)
- Henggeler Computer Consulting and Medix School
- Hillary Clinton For President Campaign
- Hispanic Scholarship Fund Institute
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute
- Hyatt Hotel (Maryland)
- IMC (Virginia)
- International Center for Journalists
- Intersoft Corporation
- Jackson & Campbell
- James Posey Associates
- Jenner & Block
- Juarez & Associates, Inc.
- L-3 Communications
- Lazarus Foundation
- League of Women Voters
- Legal Times & Influence
- Magellan Health Services (Maryland)
- Maryland Athletic Club
- Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.
- National Albanian American Council
- National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors
- National Association of Home Builders
- National Health Council
- New Israel Fund
- New Media Strategies (Virginia)
- PhRMA
- Politics & Prose Bookstore
- Prime Wave Communications
- Reilly Mortgage (Virginia)
- RGII Technologies (Virginia)
- Riecken Foundation
- Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg P.A.
- Smarteam Communications
- Solutions Group (Maryland)
- Source Media
- Special Olympics
- St. Margaret School (Bel Air)
- The Classic Catering People (Maryland)
- The Nature Conservancy
- Visions Marketing Services
- Washington Area Wheelchair Society
- Washington College (Maryland)
- Williams Mullen Strategies
