Growing Up Free

I got back from a business trip last month and was ecstatic to find a letter from the IRS saying that Kids on Computers is officially a US federal 501(c)(3) organization!!!

It’s retroactive to February 25, 2009. (We have been a Colorado nonprofit since our start but this gives us federal status.)

Having 501(c)(3) status will enable us to qualify for more grants and programs targeted at nonprofit organizations. It also helps establish people’s trust (they know you are doing a public good) and enables some people to deduct their donation from the money they pay taxes on.

Many thanks to Serena Robb who filled out all the paperwork for us! It was her first time filling out a 501(c)(3) federal application and she did a lot of research to make sure she got it right.

Welcome to the Smoky Hill High School students working on their CAS projects!

We need you! We are working to set up computer labs for kids that have no other access to computers.

Our projects are creative, active and service projects.

We can use your help in everything from:

• creating posters
• designing tshirts
• fundraising
• collecting computers
• installing the computers with Linux (no experience necessary)
• packing up the computers for labs.

We will have our first kickoff meeting in June. If you would like to join us, please email Stormy Peters at stormy -at – kidsoncomputers -dot- org.

No experience necessary. There will be lots of fun things for everyone to do. If we get enough computers, we’ll dedicate a lab to Smoky Hill High School!

Over the weekend, Hermes and some of his friends worked on the computers donated by “Caja Popular Mexicana”.

From Hermes:

Talking with Kees, another volunteer, we decided that the best way to use these computers is with LTSP. The computers are older and many don’t have a hard disk or they have a very small one.

My friend Mario David May Cuevas (maqquq) helped us. He is the guy from the lab on “El Jicaral”.  My sister and my girlfriend also helped us.

My friends Efrén Sánchez Juárez (rootsan) with debian t-shirt and Ángel Rodolfo Pérez Canseco (ikkaro) working on a computer.

Over the weekend we set up 12 computers with LTSP, and they worked very well.

The repaired machines!

My friends rootsan, ikkaro and Mario David May Cuevas, next to the books.

Ikkaro sleeping in the car after a very busy weekend.

All the friends that work on the computers this weekend.

rootsan: Efrén Sánchez Juárez
maqquq: Mario David May Cuevas
ikkaro: Ángel Rodolfo Pérez Canseco
Gris: Griselda Legaria Ortega (my girlfriend)
Maguito: Margarita Esperanza Ojeda Ruiz (Hermes’ sister)
Thot: Me

We still need some DDR 233MHz sticks and PXE network cards. The best part of this weekend was the Pentium II (233Mhz) computer, running like a new computer, using LTSP.

Thanks to Kees for the memories sticks, they were really useful.

UPDATE: 25 of the computers from this batch are now working!

Kids on Computers has a new brochure! Many thanks to Kees and Erin!

To print:

• Download the brochure
• Under Paper->Size, choose Borderless8.5x11in
• Under Orientation, choose Landscape