Digital Empowerment

Donate & Refurbish Laptops

Help Level the Digital Playing Field

Can you imagine living without a computer in this day and age? That’s the unfortunate reality for more than 40 percent of lower-income adults in the United States, according to a 2021 Pew Research Center Study. Without a reliable computer, people struggle to access information, employment opportunities, education, government services, and more.

Help change this inequity by being part of the KindWorks Digital Empowerment Initiative. We collect used computers and refurbish them to like-new condition—a process that includes wiping donated computers clean of all personal files and settings that may remain, adding any needed hardware or peripherals required to ensure full audio and video capabilities, and loading a current operating system plus a suite of free software to make the computer fully functional. Then we distribute the equipment, free of charge, to students, families, and individuals in need (as identified by local agencies and nonprofits), as well as emerging community efforts. By providing these ready-to-use computers to those in need, we aim to increase community members’ access to services and improve digital literacy—plus, help our planet by reducing electronics sent to the landfill!

Here’s How to Get Involved

Donate Laptops
Check our donation guidelines on this page and email us or call us to provide details and arrange a drop-off.
Spread the Word
Ask your workplace, friends, and neighbors about donating computers to KindWorks as they refresh their old ones. (A three-year-old computer can be a treasure to someone needing a computer for college!) Here’s a flyer to make it easy.
Make a Financial Donation
Just $50 allows us to outfit a refurbished computer with all the necessities. Donate here.
Join Our Refurbishing Team
Email us if you are interested in being considered for our next cohort of volunteers. Refurbishers serve double duty as collection and distribution sites and are particularly needed in Northern Virginia and in DC.

Donate Your Laptops!

We currently ONLY accept laptop computers, iPads, and other tablets that power on.

Please note these additional guidelines:

As a general rule, we accept computers that are newer than 2015.
PCs can be operating on Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 10. (Those using Windows 98, 2000, ME, XP and Vista are too outdated.)
We welcome all types of MacBooks, including the original MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air
Before donating an iPad, please be sure to remove it from your iCloud (and FindMyPhone app). Here’s how.
If your computer doesn’t power on at all, it’s best to dispose of it properly at an electronics recycling point. In Montgomery County, residents can drop off electronics for recycling at the Shady Grove Transfer Station or check the county’s Department of Environmental Protection website for additional recycling options.
To donate working desktop computers, monitors, keyboards, printers, and other peripherals, we recommend contacting Phoenix Computers.

Email us to donate

Where Our Refurbished Computers Go

Computers donated through the KindWorks Digital Empowerment Initiative are improving lives across our community. Here are some of the beneficiaries:

Students in need

supporting students in need attend:

high school (through partnerships with Montgomery County Public Schools and Linkages to Learning),
college (through partnerships with Fostering Terps Success at UMD, and Mentors, Inc. @Kid Power DC,) and
law school (through a partnership with Barrier Breakers, Inc).

Families starting over after having fled domestic violence

identified through our partnership with The National Center for Children and Families’ Rapid Rehousing Program and other agencies.

Resettling refugee families

via:

KindWorks home setups,
the International Rescue Committee (IRC),
Lutheran Social Services (LSS),
the Ethiopian Community Development Center (ECDC),
the Immigrant and Refugee Outreach Center (IROC),
Homes Not Borders, the Gilchrist Immigrant Resource Center,
Mozaic’s refugee support programs, including their workforce assistance classes, and
Solutions in Hometown Connections

Latino and other historically underserved youth

identified through our work with Identity Inc. in Gaithersburg

English language learners

through partnerships with the Literacy Council of Montgomery County and MD TESOL

Emerging community efforts/organizations

including:

a vaccine clinic run by Cross Communities;
FurnishHope DC, a nonprofit that furnishes homes for those in need in Wards 7 &8 in DC;
a Manna Foods program to teach computer literacy to immigrants from Africa;
the Upcounty Consolidation Hub, a food assistance provider; and
a computer lab at a hotel in Bethesda providing long term temporary housing for resettling Afghan families

REQUEST A COMPUTER FOR YOUR CLIENT