About Computers for Charity

Computer for Charity was founded in 2008 by Jeffrey Kill who continues to serve as the chairman of the board and the Chief Technology Officer of the organization. Jeff's education and background in computers, employment in the recycling industry and his life experiences led him to start the charity.

Jeff's daughter, Kelbey suffered from a ruptured brain aneurysm when she was 9 years old. This left her mentally and physically handicapped. Before this she was working at 3 grade levels above other children her age and was very adept with the computer. As his daughter struggled through the recovery process, he worked to get her back on the computer, hoping to utilize technology to enhance his daughters recovery. After having to relearn most of what she knew, she eventually became proficient and independent on the computer again. To this day it provides her with a sense of independence, entertainment, and provides a positive source of cognitive stimulation.

These experiences inspired Jeff to find ways to utilize his IT knowledge to help other children and individuals in the community who do not have access to computers to obtain them. He began taking donations of computers and repairing them for members of his local church congregation. Eventually the client base expanded to others in the community and as the word spread others joined the cause. At present time, Computers for Charity serves all of Northwest Ohio as well as some special projects that assist international mission organizations.

Computers for Charity became an official 501 (c3) in 2009 under the West Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church. Its mission is both environmental and humanitarian as simply stated in its mission statement: “Our mission is to reduce the electronic waste in our landfills by taking donations of computers and related accessories and refurbishing them. These repaired computers can then be distributed to individuals and other non-profits, providing access to computer technology and bridging the 'digital divide'.”

Computers for Charity is comprised of a group of volunteers of various backgrounds who meet weekly to work on computers that are donated from businesses and individuals. We can then place these computers with families and others in need in the community, through other charities that we provide computer vouchers to. We also use our technical skills to provide free consulting services to churches, charities and nonprofits and provide computer solutions that meet their needs when applicable. In the process of this Computers for Charity is able to serve as a place where people from the non-profits (as well as students and other members of the community) can come and learn how to build, troubleshoot and repair PCs as well as gain other computer knowledge.