cc newsletter issue 2

8/3/2019 CC Newsletter Issue 2

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Issue #2 SPECIAL EDITION Nov 2011

Charity Changes You. A

personal note from the CTO: Jeffrey Kill.

If anyone had told me thatstarting a charity wouldchange me so much as a person I would not have believed them.

After all I am a Christian and I've always beencharitable. I've given a little time to SalvationArmy , the Old Newsnboys, GlobalConnections, Special Olympics, and a number of other charities over the years. I volunteer atmy church and put my money in the plate.

I've worked hard at showing random acts of kindness to those around me. As I pointed outon previous occasions, every little bit helps.

There is something entirely different abouttaking on a cause that no one else seems to bechampioning and trying to make it work. Goneare the days of volunteering for a day or anevent and getting on with my life.

With Computers for Charity, over the last fewyears I have had to work constantly with everyspare moment at my disposal. I have had towear the hat of the CEO, CTO, Marketer,Promoter, Web Developer, Organizer,Speaker, Fundraiser, Volunteer Coordinator,Event Planner, and all around Laborer.

At first there was just me working oncomputers form my home in Bowling Green,Ohio. Then there were a few other volunteers;namely, Kimberlie Morris and RichardRowold who helped me with office tasks as

well as providing me with a great deal of encouragement and inspiration.

Turning Point Church graciously allowed us touse a small room next to the sanctuary to startour endeavor. It was adequate and we weregrateful to be able to provide a service throughthe church that no one else was providing.

As we began to meet needs in our church and beyond one thing became apparent. There wasno shortage of needs, rather a shortage of timeand talent to meet them.

I started advertising through the internet and joining social networking sites to promote theeffort and to solicit computers, parts andvolunteers.

I signed up for environmental, recycling, andtechnological oriented sites who shared

common interests and visions. We joinedTechsoup and became a aMicrosoftRegisteredRefurbisher.

I joined severalOpen Sourcecommunities and began to

participate inthem. I also joinedWood CountyArea Ministriesand other charityorganizations thatare working tomeet diverse needs

Computers for Charity'sComputers for Charity's

Bits and BytesBits and Bytes

In ThisIssue

• Charity

Changes You

• Dust BunniesCan Kill

• What is

Malware?



in our localcommunity.

As the word began tospread and the

donations increasedwe began to run out of room. We also beganto get morevolunteers.

As individuals cameto drop off equipmentand saw the scope of our vision they wantedto help in some way.

As we providedcomputers for peoplethey too were inspired by our effort and wequickly found a placefor them within theorganization.

OvercomingLimitations

The need to move intoa bigger space and toget out from under thelocal churches limitingtax structure becameapparent.

We would need towrite receipts for donations and do fundraising to be able provide the type of service that we wantedto and to plan for future expansion.

We formed a Board of Directors who's sole purpose would be tohandle the paperwork

involved in theformation of a non profit.

We found it would beeasier to obtain a 501(c)(3) through theMethodist Churchthan it would be totackle this on our ownso we worked with theWest Ohio Conference

of the UMC to set thatup.

The important thingwas to remain a non-sectarian/secular charity under a faith based organization.

Our vision is to become another one of the great charities thathave sprung forthform the church andnow have a vital rolein the public life of our society.

A MethodistTradition

The mixing of secular

and sacred for thecause of charity isnothing new for theMethodist church.

Just look at other greatefforts such as theMethodist Hospitals, Nursing Homes, food banks, job training,

and children servicesto name a few.

With a great traditionof charity and social

action, the Methodistchurch has alongstanding record of meeting people at the point of their needs.

That is the part of thegospel I hoped tofulfill throughComputers for Charity.

Living a life of serviceto the community is atall order. As Jesushealed all who wouldcome to him and fedthe masses, we hopeto meet a verysignificant need in our modern culture.

Access to a computer

has become more than just a want.

So we obtained our Non Profit Status andmoved into a bigger room, with a separateoffice upstairs. Wenow have room to hostcomputer classeswhich are still in

development.

I also have developedseveral presentationsto demonstrate thereason whyrefurbishing andreusing electronics is preferable both in anenvironmental and a

humanitarian senseand have taken thismessage to as manychurches and other

organizations in our community as willhave me.

We've made greatstrides in organizingour collection andrecycling methods aswell as our recordkeeping and officework.

We have over 20volunteers who comeon an irregular basisand we hope to soonhave a weekly staff of at least 10 dependablevolunteers. Wecontinue to reach outto other charities andnon-profits who'sservices we hope to

enhance by our own.

Living a life of serviceto others is atranformativeexperience as well.

Serving AnImportant Need

God has given us eacha purpose in life andthe skills to achievethat purpose.



Finding a way to meetthe needs of othersthrough our God giventalents is a fulfillmentof the gospel and of our own potential.

We begin to think lessabout the My, Me,Mines, and our ownneeds become lesssignificant in the faceof others strugglingwith basic and morecomplex problemsthan our own;

The 30 year oldwoman who wasrecently handicappedand is now living in anassisted nursingfacility who desires acomputer so she cango to school online andstill make somethingof her life.

The Grandmother whois caring for her granddaughter andwants her to be able todo her schoolwork athome as opposed towalking across town tothe library daily.

The newlyunemployed worker

who lost a lifetime joband needs a computer to search for a new position.

The single mother whois struggling atmeeting the basicneeds of her family

and would like her children to have accessto technology so theyare prepared for themodern world of education andemployment.

The college student ona tight budget whoneeds to have access toresearch andeducational materialsonline.

The Elderly person

who simply wants tokeep in touch withtheir family the waywe do nowadays,through email andsocial networking.

The mentally and physicallyhandicapped, to whomaccess to technologycan be an equalizingfactor and provide away to connect withothers and overcomethe limitations placedon them by society.

It's Not JustAboutComputers

This is about a lotmore than providingcomputers for people,it is about providinghope.

Providing a way for people to obtain anindependence as wellas an interdependencewith the moderncommunities that are part of our lives.

Bridging a digitaldivide that has shrunk considerably in recentyears, but for those behind the divide, howmuch deeper it has become.

My heart aches for allof the clients we help.As we meet the needsof those in our community I had tothrow away all prejudice and pretensions. I've had toask myself what Iwould do if my mosthated enemy came to

us for help. Theanswer is help them inany way that I can.

As the charity hasgrown, I have grownas a person in ways inever imagined.

It is a process that hashelped me to healmany of my own

personal wounds and Ihope to share thisexperience and this journey with as manyof you as possible.

We continue to growand are heading inexciting new

directions. I'm lookingforward to seeing whatchallenges andopportunities thefuture is going to bringus!

Thank you all and God bless you,

Jeffrey Kill

Founder and CTO of Computers for Charity

Dust Bunnies

Can Kill

A good system cleanupIsn't just aboutscanning for virusesand uninstalling bloatware andunneeded services.

It's also about physically cleaning theinternal components of your system. If your system is behaving poorly or runninglouder than normal, itmay be a victim of the

Killer Dust Bunny.

In all seriousness Dustis a destroyer of manya computer.

Dust settling on theoutside of your computer case mayappear to be just a



Page 2

minor cosmetic issuewhich can be easilyaddressed with acleaning cloth.

However, the fact thatthere was dust on theoutside is a goodindication that therewill be dust and other debris within thecomputer case itself.

There are several waysin which dust anddebris accumulationcan impact your computers operationand overall performance. Built-updust can cause twothings to occur:

It can restrict airflow by accumulating onand in ventilationholes, slots, and fans.

It can accumulate andact as a thermalinsulator like theinsulation in your home's attic and walls.

Both of theseconditions will causeyour computer and itsinternal parts tooperate at higher thannormal temperatures,which can cause themto fail sooner thanthey should.

Dust can also containconductive materialand particles can stick to circuit boards and

cause a short circuit.Even home computersif not properly cleanedcan succumb to problems caused bytoo much dust.

A dirty fan doesn'trotate fast enough tokeep the CPU cool.This causes thecomputer's fan motor

to work harder - and aharder working motor can raise the electric bill.

Worst case scenario:A completely cloggedfan just stops rotatingaltogether. Then theCPU will overheat andfail. No CPU equals

no computer!

At high temperature,fail safe software,shuts down your computer to preventdamage.

This can happenduring boot-up or inthe middle of intensiveCPU tasks. BlueScreen of Death andfrequent memoryerrors are some of

other symptoms of anoverheating computer.

A simple sign to look out for is constant or

frequent fan operation.

If you are afraid toopen your computer case to clean out your system never fear. Our techs are well versedin the art of combatingthe lethal Dust Bunny!

What isMalware?

Short for malicious

software, Malwre

consists of

programming (code,scripts, active content,

and other software)

designed to disrupt or

deny operation, gather

information that leads

to loss of privacy or

exploitation, gain

unauthorized access to

system resources, and

other evil behavior.

It can hijack your

browser, redirect your

search attempts, serve

up nasty pop-up ads,

track what web sites

you visit, and

generally screw things

up.

Malware often comes

bundled with other programs. These

programs usually pop-

up ads, sending

revenue from the ads

to the program's

authors.

Still others, install

themselves through

holes in Internet

Explorer like a viruswould, requiring you

to do nothing but visit

the wrong web page to

get infected.

The vast majority,

however, must be

installed by the user.

Getting infected with

Malware is usually

much easier than

getting rid of it, and

once you get Malware

on your computer it

tends to multiply.

We have developed

comprehensive ways

of dealing with

malware and other nasties you may

encounter and we can

help if your computer

has been infected.

http://computersforc

harity.webs.com

cc newsletter issue 2

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