recyclemac

This is the door at Marvin Church you use to get into the MRC workspace. We're open Monday nights from 7 to 9 to work on sick Macs and take donations. (Photo taken with an iPod Touch)

Informed folks want to know! I’ve been talking a lot about what we do and how we do it but sometimes just having an actual mission statement can provide some focus for an organization. MRC is a SMALL organization mind you. We still have a number of folks who were part of the old Tuesday Night Crew as we called it at Washington Apple Pi (WAP). Over the time we were “in the wilderness” and without a home, we did lose a few friends.

We hope that as we reestablish ourselves in our new location at Marvin Memorial United Methodist Church in Silver Spring, others interested in helping will step forward. And of course we could use some customers too! We survive thanks to your donations. Come join us!

Let me take a stab now at a real mission statement for MacRecycleClinic.  You are all invited to help refine it into something that we can all be proud of.

The mission of MacRecycleClinic, as a non-profit all-volunteer organization, is to focus on refurbishing and recycling donated computers to those who most need them. We are also dedicated to helping users of out-of-warranty Macs. We realize that computers contribute a lot of electronic waste into our environment. By helping to fix, refurbish and recycle, MacRecycleClinic can help extend the useful life of Macintosh computers and help educate users about ways they can continue to get the most out of their investment.

Hmmm. Well that’s a good first stab. Let me know what you think and we’ll refine it a bit. I know most of our readers are not part of the organization, but your contribution is welcome – and maybe it will help you think about starting a similar group in your own community. As I’ve mentioned, whether PC or Mac – computers can continue to offer years of useful service with just a little tender care. Given the economy, many Americans don’t even have computers. If we can help those with the most need it might make a difference in their ability to get a job and provide for their family. That’s pretty big for what is in all likelihood just a little bit of volunteer time.

If your club or organization also recycles computers let us know and we’ll give you a link – and we hope you’ll give us one too. Seems to me we might also start talking about a parts exchange program among groups that do this kind of thing. Worth the discussion in any case.