Sandia donates hundreds of computers to New Mexico schools, including to Silver City Consolidated Schools

BY KIM VALLEZ QUINTANA

Photos Courtesy of Sandia National Labs

LOADING THEM UP — Sandia's Property Management and Reapplication team packs computers into a moving truck destined for Silver City schools as part of the Computer Donation Program on Aug. 1. (Photo by Craig Fritz) 
Thanks to Sandia's annual K-12 Computer Donation Program,Graphic by Eric Lundin  1,654 desktops, laptops and iPads are on their way to classrooms, computer labs and offices of New Mexico schools.

Each year, Sandia upgrades aging technology to ensure it can meet performance standards, then donates the retired computers to schools. While the computers are wiped and the hard drives removed to ensure no sensitive information is released, schools are able to refurbish the equipment at a very low cost.

This year, five Albuquerque Public Schools and five Silver City schools will benefit from the program. Along with desktops, laptops and iPads, the schools also receive printers, monitors and keyboards for their use.

Since the program began in 2012, Sandia has donated nearly 22,000 computers with a total value of more than $26 million to New Mexico classrooms. Most of the computers donated are four to six years old with plenty of usable life in them.

THE GIFT OF TECH — Silver Consolidated Schools employees load printers donated by Sand ia into a van headed for Silver City to use during the upcoming school year. (Photo by Craig Fritz) 

TREASURE HUNT — Silver Consolidated Schools staff member Richard Walter looks through a pile of monitors donated by Sandia to take home to classrooms in Silver City. (Photo by Craig Fritz)