MetLife Geek-A-Thon Refurbishes Computers For Students
School children in Raleigh, N.C., received free desktop computers -- equipped with a new operating system and educational software -- when MetLife developers, programmers, and engineers refurbished 311 PCs during a "Geek-A-Thon" event Oct. 9-11.
With support from the Kramden Institute and a $25,000 grant from MetLife Foundation, more than 250 employees from MetLife Global Technology and Operations participated in the Geek-A-Thon. The goal was to help students who don't have home computers and are at a disadvantage since teachers regularly assign digital homework, said Jim O'Donnell, CTO of MetLife Global Technology and Operations.
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"Programmers can hold holiday food drives like everyone else and we do. But equally important is nurturing young minds through education and technology, and more than ever, technology holds tremendous power to change people's lives," O'Donnell told InformationWeek. "Our partnership with the Kramden Institute is a chance for us to help families tool up."
Out of the 311 refurbished desktops, 80 were given to students in Raleigh, and the rest will be donated as needed by the Kramden Institute, which was founded in 2003 to provide technology tools and training to bridge the digital divide. Half of the student recipients were children of veterans and active service members in North Carolina.
Read the full story on InformationWeek.
Elena Malykhina began her career at The Wall Street Journal, and her writing has appeared in various news media outlets, including Scientific American, Newsday, and the Associated Press. For several years, she was the online editor at Brandweek and later Adweek, where she ... View Full Bio
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