Connect Illinois: PCs for People

March 24, 2021

Through a first-of-its-kind collaboration by the State of Illinois, PCs for People, and various community partners, Illinois has launched a statewide network that will receive, refurbish and redistribute used computers to those in need. This initiative responds to the 1.1 million Illinois households currently without computers and aims to bridge the digital divide for those without internet access to help improve connectivity essential for remote learning, work from home, telemedicine, and other requirements of everyday life. Learn more here.

Libraries can participate by donating equipment to this program, and/or serving as a location for community members to donate or receive equipment via a collaborative drive with PCs for People. Read an article about the Belleville Public Library's successful such endeavor.

If you are interested in donating equipment to this program, PCs for People will accept any and all used computer equipment, redistributing what it can refurbish and recycling what it cannot refurbish.  PCs for People is NAID AAA and R2 certified, requiring the non-for-profit to practice the highest standards of information destruction, hard drive sanitization, and environmental computer device recycling along with a zero-landfill policy.

This partnership is part of the broad Connect Illinois initiative, which also includes grants to increase broadband access in communities and the Broadband Advisory Council, on which ILA has a representative. 

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