“Our library was furnished with wonderful tables, chairs, books and computers. It could not have come at a better time. We have now been given the go ahead to be a full charter university for 800 students.” NGO director, Zambia
Corporate donations of computers can have a transformational impact for people left behind by the digital age.
Crossroads gives away hundreds of donated computers to schools, needy families and charities in Hong Kong and developing countries. We pride ourselves on providing high quality computers to those in need; returning them to near, or better than, factory condition.
How do we process donated computers?
Each computer undergoes a rigorous process including:
- Physical inspection and cleaning
- Secure erase of storage media using industry standard methods (Companies with special requirements for data destruction should follow those procedures before donation.)
- Thorough stress testing via an automated testing suite process
- Installation of fully licensed software. Crossroads is an authorised Microsoft refurbisher
Maximise your donation
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Sponsorship: A little money toward refurbishment costs means more people are helped more quickly. Only $230 per desktop (more for laptops) can convert a product donation into a turnkey community project. Want to take it even further? Sponsor equipment upgrades that will help us push through more computers each day.
- Volunteering: You can engage a group of staff in the refurbishment process.
- Logistics: Delivering to Crossroads allows our money, labor and vehicles to help other people in need (and it costs you less than sending to landfill.)
- Regular giving: We love it when companies get in touch with us every time they upgrade!
- Customisation: Companies considering substantial computer donations bundled with financial sponsorship are invited discuss with us ways to deepen their involvement. This could mean connecting more closely with a recipient project and/or developing communications materials.
Computer specifications
It is enormously helpful if you are able to share the computers’ model numbers with our staff!
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Computers no older than 7 years
- Ideally with HDD included*
- Please include accessories whenever possible
- keyboard, mouse, power cables
- laptop battery & charger
- For specialty items it is especially helpful to share model numbers with our staff first so our technical team can first find out if we have any client charities capable of using them. Examples include: Thin clients, telephony devices, specialty server and networking equipment etc. If it’s not a normal PC or laptop, we need to check first before receiving it.
*Our erase procedure uses DoD 5220.22-M (7 passes.) If a particular certification is required by your company’s security and compliance policies then your IT department may need to perform the required data erasure procedures before donation.
Regarding erasure certification, we can’t provide a digitally signed certificate of secure erasure. In the past we have provided a letter listing the serial numbers of each PC donated and then states guarantee that we have completed the erasure of all the disk drives using DOD 5220.22-M standards.
Want to donate? Click here to fill out our form or email itdept@crossroads.org.hk for more information.