Hamilton helps out Vets with computers.

As part of our weeklong series highlighting Veteran’s and Hamilton in honor of Veteran’s Day on November 11, 2011 we highlight a program started by a student and instructor:

Hamilton Student Steve Oliver started helping his sister, Sarah Oliver,  find computers for the homeless veteran’s she worked with through her outreach center and through her work with the VA as something to pass the time. He started with computers that were donated by the community, erasing people’s personal information, making sure they worked and then helping set up computer banks where homeless veterans could come and access the internet.  Then, when he was in Joe Wesenberg’s 4th semester Computer Fundamentals class he proposed the idea to Joe of having the school donate its old computers to the cause. Joe was on board with the idea and Hamilton Technical College’s President Maryanne Hamilton offered to donate new monitors, keyboards, and computer mice to the cause.

As a technical school, there is a requirement for the computers that the school uses to be up to date and able to utilize the newest technology. This creates a turnover of computers that are still functional, they just don’t meet the requirements of the school; but, they do meet the needs of homeless and/or needy veterans. The computers Hamilton has provided allow veterans to use the internet to search for jobs, access VA resources, and connect with friends and family through email and social media. They also give them word processing capabilities to create a resume. Computers are distributed to both outreach centers, which provide a bank of computers with internet access for homeless veterans as well as to the individual homes of veterans who are unable to afford computers of their own.

Currently, Steve and Joe go through all of the old computers as they are cycled out of use at Hamilton and make sure that each computer going out is fully functional. They wipe the hard drives of anything extraneous or saved student work that might be on the computers. They are often able to piece together a working computer from several computers that are not working. Each computer is then given a brand new monitor, keyboard and mouse, provided by Maryanne Hamilton. So far the school has donated 10 computers, with plans to donate more as more computers are replaced on campus.

Steve Oliver graduates from the Electronics Engineering Technology program in 30 days and he is hoping the program will continue at Hamilton Technical College after he graduates. He has been impressed with how the program has grown from something he did on his own to pass time to something that can really have an impact on veterans in need in the area.