FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) — If Santa was in the business of giving away computers, his elves would look like Cumberland County technology students, and his workshop would be off Gillespie Street.
On Saturday morning, more than 100 Gray’s Creek and Pine Forest high school students put the finishing touches on computers they fixed up to hand out to families in need.
The students are a part of the county’s Academy of Information Technology. For the second year in a row, they set up shop in the CCS Operations building off Gillespie Street for the Christmas giveaway.
“A couple of kids at our school, they got computers last year and they just weren’t expecting it,” said Renissa Richardson, a Pine Forest junior. “They were told they were getting a free computer, so it was very emotional, and it was just great to see that we’re doing something in the community.”
“If I didn’t have a computer, I’d love to be able to get one this way,” added Kendalyn Morgan, a Pine Forest junior who worked to refurbish hardware in this year’s batch of PCs.
Since August, the students have worked on Saturday mornings to refurbish the PCs, which would otherwise be recycled.
“Basically we take a group of computers – we use half of them for parts to put in the other half, and we put together a good machine that can go into a home,” said Kevin Coleman, Executive Director of Technology for CCS. “So instead of sending them to a recycling plant, it seemed a shame not to use them.”
Last year, the students refurbished 150 PCs. They took on the task of fixing 500 computers this year, as their superintendent looked on proudly.
“These are young people who can walk out tomorrow and get a job in IT,” said Dr. Frank Till. “By 1:00, there will be 500 students in our county who woke up without technology and will now have technology.”
“Ultimately, the school system, we want to do everything we can to give access to digital content for all students, said Coleman.