Thanks to a generous partnership with Free Geek, we are able to give each graduated high school senior in our Navigate program a refurbished computer for college!
Oregon Navigate students attend one of eight schools outside of the Portland-metro area: Clatskanie Middle/High School, Gaston Junior/Senior High, Irrigon Junior/Senior High School, McLoughlin High School, Rainier Junior/Senior High School, Riverside Junior/Senior High School, St. Helens High School or Umatilla High School.
In total, this will be about 80 refurbished laptops, plus one year of free support from Free Geek for each student. That way if there’s any trouble with the laptop, students are able to contact Free Geek who will troubleshoot and fix the laptop for them for free.
Computers are a demonstrated high need item for College Possible students. It’s not hard to see how vital a computer is to success in higher education today even as we begin to return to hybrid or even in-person learning environments. Without this resource, we know that students end up using computer labs that have limited hours and limited devices, borrow computers, or share one computer between multiple people. It’s often one more barrier to overcome to succeeding in school.
I really appreciate Free Geek donating these laptops for us College Possible students. This will be very beneficial for collegiate education and takes a financial burden off my shoulders! Because of this generous donation, I will have the technology I need to succeed.” –Emma, Irrigon High School graduate, 2021 and future student at Notre Dame of Maryland University
This partnership aligns with Free Geek’s mission and values to enable digital access and bridge the digital divide. It is designed to build the capacity of College Possible’s pathways and to increase Free Geek’s impact to sustainably reuse technology, provide education that demystifies technology, and connect Free Geek to new groups.
We are thrilled to be able to partner with College Possible in this way and provide laptops for college-bound students. Access to technology is so important for success in higher education and we are glad to be able to provide this one piece of the puzzle for students from rural Oregon.” –Hilary Shohoney, Executive Director at Free Geek
Thank you, Free Geek! We look forward to continuing to partner with you in support of future college graduates in Oregon.
