Slashdot Mirror
How Can Techies Give Back?
KReilly asks: "As the school year starts back up for me, I have been looking for a volunteer program I could work in. This year I have been considering creating my own non-profit organization, but I still lack a clear picture of what I hope to accomplish. I have read about communities wiring classrooms for the internet in California, and repairing computers donated by businesses for schools. I would like to do this, but find many schools and libraries would deny this donation since its maintenance would be too big of an investment for them and they do not want to experiment with Open Source alternatives that would lower the PC repair cost. So my question to you is how do you, as a tech, give back to society and aid in social programs? And, any information/advice you wanted to share on my original idea would be much appreciated."
Help in a gubernatorial election campaign.
Volunteer at the soup kitchen.
Donate unused stuff to Goodwill.
Offer your time to the old-folks home.
Pick up litter in your neighborhood.
Give money to the Salvation Army.
Offer to read to children in the hospital.
Drop a few dimes into a homeless person's cup.
Buy a couple dozen Krispy Kreme donuts for your coworkers.
Start a community watch program in your neighborhood.
There are so many things you can do that do not necessarily require technology. These things are easier to give and easier to receive because people in need do not always have the means to support technological donations. It's the human touch that is important in charity.
they do not want to experiment with Open Source alternatives that would lower the PC repair cost
What Open Source software packages are going to lower the repair costs of a PC?
Look for non-profit organizations such as the local Food Bank, the American Heart Association, the Red Cross, or Junior Achievement.
Even if these organizations don't need technical help, volunteer your time and encourage friends/coworkers to join you. It won't (or at least, it shouldn't) kill you to walk away from the computer world for a few hours a week.
I don't know about where you live, but I know there's a lot of small non-profit/charity orgs in my neighbourhood (Eastern Canada) that already have some sort of net access. But what they *do* need is help in getting the best out of their often old hardware, or just getting it to work at all.
I'm not talking classrooms (afaik most classrooms around here have access to *paid* staff of some sort, no?) but more like your local literacy council, small library, soup kitchen, women's shelter, yadda yadda ...
They usually have the hardware. What they need is the (open) software, and the training. And then you've just made a difference in their operation, and their life.
Don't put salt in your eyes.
If in the US, jobs are disappearing at a frightening rate, esp techie jobs. Consider the idea of creating a for-profit company that create jobs. Then use some of that profit to help drive the non-profit.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
NGP Software
that said they're looking for programming interns to build a database for Democrats who want to fundraise. Mostly when I hear about tech help needed from anyone doing something social or political, it's pretty small-scale stuff, but these guys look like a big, interesting operation. I assume there are similar orgs. serving other major political parties.
Also, Geekcorps has always looked like a great bunch, if you want to go overseas.
Finally, you mentioned libraries. I volunteered for quite a while just training people to use computers & the internet a few years back. Libraries may be more willing to accept volunteer labor to run community education classes than for stuff like wiring, because the education volunteers aren't giving something with an on-going support cost.
Or, you could always do what I did...decide that programming just doesn't offer the opportunities for volunteer work that you want from your career, and then go to law school (law school being the absolute least pleasant experience under the sun, AFAICT) ;-).
Good Luck.
Over the summer, I did volunteer work for a school district. I started off helping them clean their ~1500 client machines, spread between over 25 buildings. Once that was done, they let me observe/work at one of their new schools, which was being re-modelled. I learned a lot about pulling cable there. Volunteering isn't just about giving....
Over the years I've slapped together a good number of computers from semi-obsolete parts businesses get rid of (think Pentium IIs, Celeron 533mhz's, etc).
To which I'll add a $20 Geforce MX, slap on a pirated version of XP, install a few games like the Sims, Fifa Soccer, Putt-Putt.. and lots and lots of educational software.
I used to also load MS Office but I've been finding that OOo is good enough that I may just go with that in the future.
I'll harden the system as much as possible.. install all the latest patches, configure automatic updating, remove all traces of Outlook, etc. I used to load a cracked version of Eudora pro but Thunderbird is good enough that I will typically put that on now.
I freely give these systems out to underprivelaged families living in and around local slum. Not sure whether you would call this "giving back," but it helps keep kids out of trouble and gives them something productive to do.
The unofficial
Um, not sure why you think doing your job isn't contributing to society. You're paying taxes, you're not sponging, you're doing something useful to someone, and your spare cash is pushing the economy along as you spend it. You want to contribute to society - do your job well, get pay rises etc.
So you're a student. Getting an education, even if it's at the country's expense, *is* giving to society. Instead of leaving and sponging, you're seeking to improve your skills, and thus eventually be able to do the above even better. Most societies, if not all, recognise the value of education and know the future lies in that route, even if it does cost a lot of tax$$$. Not educating people has a much greater impact on a society than educating people at that same society's expense. If you really feel you must do volunteer work as well, make sure your first, second, third and fourth priorities are your education and that you cannot possibly do better, then and ONLY then look to do a few hours outside that. You probably have a lot of homework - excel at that, then you can do the volunteer stuff when you're doing a 9-5. Don't underestimate the value of idle time - you need time to recover so that you can do your top priority best.