The Buffalo County Community Response Team (CRT) is collaborating with Motherboard, a technology company out of Omaha, to host a laptop recycle drive. The drive will be held during UNK’s “Big Event,” on April 17th at the West Center parking lot 27, 1917 W 24th Street, Kearney NE 68849, from 10 am – 2 pm.
Old laptops, computers, cell phones, and tablets can be dropped off at the drive through recycling event. Retrieve any information or files that are needed prior to donation, all hard drives will be erased.
Recycled computers will be refurbished by Motherboard and provided back to the Buffalo County Community Response Team to give to individuals in need. The Community Response Team has developed a system to give laptops to those in need of technology for education or communication with family, friends, or therapist. The Community Response team have identified a need from our child care providers to have access to technology.
Alexandra Dillon, Central Region Early Learning Connection Coordinator Education Service Unit 10, said, “Licensed childcare providers are required to complete 12 hours of professional development every year. When COVID-19 restrictions required in person training to stop, training opportunities moved to online platforms. Many child care providers did not have devices other than their personal cell phone, to use to attend training. Most of the required training sessions are classes that are 3-6 hours in length. In addition, many children were not attending child care in the early stages of the pandemic, so providers had less income to purchase devices.”
Cell phones and tablets will be given to the SAFE Center. The SAFE Center provides them to their clients or sends them to be recycled and obtains a small profit that goes back to the SAFE Center.
Our community recycled 1,624 pounds of old desktops and 690 pounds of laptops last September at the Community Responses Team’s recycle event. Twenty-eight laptops were able to be refurbished and given back to community members in need.
For more information on the event see: https://fb.me/e/HeazfdZE.
March 2020, volunteers from these agencies met with Nebraska Children and Family to develop a Buffalo County Community Response Team: United Way of the Kearney Area, Mid Nebraska Community Action Partners, Buffalo County schools, Educational Service Unit #10, Region 3 Behavioral Health Services, University of Nebraska at Kearney, Kearney Works, City of Kearney, Villages/Cities of Buffalo County, Law Enforcement, South Central Area Agency on Aging, Kearney Area Community Foundation, SAFE Center, HelpCare Clinic, Families Care, Two Rivers Public Health Department, Central Plains Center for Services (PALS), COMPASS, Kearney Area Chamber of Commerce, Department of Health and Human Services, Buffalo County Rooted in Relationships, HealthyMINDS Collaborative, Be Well Collaborative and Buffalo County Community Partners. The Community Response approach relies on collaborative partners who pledge to serve and support families in the community. Community Response has united existing service providers together to find appropriate funding for individuals. If no funding is found, then the flexible funding is intended to provide funding based on each situation.