Finding the Helpers Amidst COVID-19: Some Good News Unmasked by a Computer Donation Project

It has certainly been a difficult time for so many. Unemployment rates with layoffs and furloughs are soaring. Friends and families who were separated physically at the start of the lockdowns are longing to be close with one another. Lives lost to or directly impacted by COVID-19 is well into the hundreds of thousands. Students and teachers are still struggling to adapt to new and changing educational environments.

Amidst these trying times, it has been encouraging finding so many of us search for the places and ways that we can help our communities. Where are we abundant and where can we give back? UOTech.co is by no means a large corporate conglomerate and we are certainly not too big to fail. We are a small business, melted with our community and our peers. And we saw that community struggling.

Schools are closed, and learning has moved online, but not all families have access to computers in their homes. UOTech.co wants to help these families get connected and help children continue learning. We have desktop computers we are donating to families who cannot afford to get computers for their homes.

Remote schoolwork and distance learning take center stage amidst this crisis and that distance learning relies heavily on technology and computers. Not every student has access to those tools in their homes. Libraries and other public meeting places, where shared access could have been possible, have had to shut their doors. This was the window through which we could see where we could help our community. We’re in tech. We have the equipment and the knowledge to lend a hand. We can do this. We knew we needed to act quickly so students could have equal chances to learn and not start to fall behind.

We reached out to our communities in any way we knew how bounded by a quarantine. We called connections we have made over the years. We posted on social media and forums. We sent out emails and got the word out through a new-era grapevine. And the neighborhood response we received overwhelmed us in the best way possible.

Our first set of donations, 35 computers with Windows 10 Pro operating system installed, screens and all the necessary peripherals, have gone out the door and found new and deserving homes. We have a second set of donations, 30 more computers with all the trimmings, that we are working to place in facilities and shelters where their impact can spread further.

An anecdote from Fred Rogers, the creator and host of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, has popped up in our conversations and our social feeds throughout this project and we have found it to be so true in working with our peers:

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”

We have been and will continue to be so grateful to the organizations and people who saw what we were doing and put in so much work and passion to help us see it through.

Organizations We Worked With

Baby Essentials of Long Island — Beli

Kerry Gillick-Goldberg of KGG Enterprises, LLC and Baby Essentials of Long Island has been integral to this project. She helped place and deliver all 35 computers in the first batch. Her dedication was energizing. Students needed computers quickly as the schoolwork was already starting to pile up and Kerry was often making deliveries well past dark. Along with the computer donations, Kerry worked with a number of organizations to source and deliver diapers, formula, food, wipes and so much more to families with very young children and newborns.

Islip NAACP

William (Billy) Moss, President of the Islip NAACP, connected us with so many families who were already helping their neighbors even when they themselves needed help.

“Thank you so much for your generosity and for thinking of those who need computers during the Coronavirus crisis. It is times like this when communities of color are often forgotten. We are grateful and glad to partner with you in God’s good work.”

Man in the Mirror, Inc. — Youth Consulting Services

In addition to helping place computers in homes, Heath A. Broughton, Founder and COO of Man in the Mirror, Inc., helped by printing and assembling school packets for kids in the neighborhoods.

“On behalf of Man in the Mirror Inc. we would like to say thank you for your generosity and kindness in giving to the youth and families under our tenure. Your giving spirit will forever be remembered and cherished.”

Messages from the Families

In this first round, we donated computers to families with students in Suffolk County. In the upcoming rounds, we will be fortunate enough to be able to expand that to families in Nassau County as well as shelters and school districts in Suffolk County. To preserve their privacy, we are sharing their sentiments anonymously.

Brentwood Family

“When my husband and I adopted four children, we didn’t realize how much was really needed. We thought of food, shelter, love, stability, and clothing. Not once did we ever think we would be living in this current pandemic and would have a need for a computer. Words cannot express how grateful we are to UOTech.co for helping us fill this need so that our children can complete their remote learning assignments.”

Central Islip Family

“We do not know how to begin to express our gratitude for the generous and thoughtful donation. A few days ago, my daughter’s teacher called to inquire if we had a computer. Since schools are closed, the teacher wanted to send assignments. Sadly, my daughter shared that we did not own a computer in our home. The donated computer to our home arrived this morning. Now my daughter can have access to all academic assignments sent by her teacher.”

Bay Shore Family

“My children attend school in the Brentwood Union Free School District. It has been very difficult with multiple school-aged children in one residence to keep up with assignments. Yesterday my family and I were very lucky to receive a desktop computer from your organization. Thank you is almost not enough.”

Finding the Helpers

We never imagined going into this the outpour of truly kind and goodhearted people we would meet and have the honor of working with along the way. We have seen so many neighbors helping neighbors. We have been connected with networks of helpers we never knew existed in our area and that list keeps growing by the day.

We had a humble and sobering start. We are in unprecedented times. I believe the ramifications of COVID-19 will be generation-defining and will resonate long after we can have a meeting over a hot cup of coffee in the same room again. But this project, how it started, where it is going, and where it will end up, has me feeling that maybe, just maybe, we really are going to get through this together. And these helpers we’ve found along the way are going to see to it that things are going to be different but in the best way possible.