Webinar Archives | July 31, 2007 Transcript

PASS IT ON WEBINAR – July 31, 2007

LOCATING EQUIPMENT

CAROLINE VAN HOWE: . . . about this Pass It On

Center webinar. If you go to the "help" section on the top

menu, and you can pull down -- under "accessibility," one

of the options is that you can have -- everything should be

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when individuals enter and/or leave the room.

Also, the public-chat area -- and I'll talk to you

in a moment about how we enter public chat -- can also be

read aloud. So we try to make this webinar conferencing

for our people who need to have extra assistance.

A couple of ways to talk to the speaker -- and

Carolyn Phillips will be our main speaker today. One, you

can enter information in the public-chat area, and to do

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A couple of other information for you, we are

recording this session, so there will be an MP3 sound file

and also a copy of the slides. So if you want to go back

and refresh your memory or also pass it on to other people,

we will be posting those on the Pass It On Web page in a

short while. I think that's all for now.

Carolyn, I'd like to hand it back over to you as

our main speaker for today's webinar.

CAROLYN PHILLIPS: Thank you so much, Caroline. I

really appreciate that. You're always so good at walking

us through the details here, so thank you very much.

We are going to be doing -- having this recorded

and putting this on our Web site so that folks can access

it as an archive document. This is especially important.

I really like this feature, and I'm very glad about it

because there are a lot of folks that said they weren't

going to be able to attend today, so I think quite a few

folks are going to be joining us by looking at it through

the archive.

This is one of those topics that's a really hot

topic because a lot of folks get very anxious about their

reuse program because it's kind of stepping out. It's a

leap of faith, if you will, that you are going to have

equipment. And I think that that's one of the things that

was probably one of my biggest concerns when I was first

getting into the reuse business, if you will, because you

just don't know if you're going to actually get the

equipment and when it's going to come and how it's going to

come. And one of the cool things about being in the field,

if you will, and involved directly with a reuse program is,

you actually get to experience seeing the equipment come in

unexpectedly and answering some of those big prayers or big

requests or what have you, whatever you want to call them

that you lift up.

So our first slide here -- I've got our Web site up

here and the Web -- this will be on the passitoncenter.org.

This presentation will be there. And it will be in our

grantees' area. And so that's where it will be.

And Tom's actually helping me out. He's going to

be pushing the slides for me, and so, Tom, I'm ready for

the next slide.

So I wanted to start off with just a thought here,

and it's basically "Work Smarter, Not Harder." And I think

that a lot of times when I'm working with folks and when

I'm working with some of y'all, actually, with your

programs, that a lot of times what ends up happening is, we

get some big ideas. And we're going to do a big equipment

drive, and we're going to, you know, have a billboard that

announces our programs and all kinds of things. And those

are great ideas. But sometimes there's a lot of work

behind that. So we need to think about, how can we really

maximize the exposure and not wear ourselves out? So

working smarter, not harder.

And so I'm actually going to share with you some

things that some of you have shared with us as far as tips

of what to do and what not to do, some of my own

experiences. And hopefully, if you would like to share

some experiences with us, that would be great too. So next

slide.

Our agenda is pretty simple. Basically, I'm going

to be talking about, "Be careful what you ask for." And

that's a little bit of those tips that I was going to talk

about. And just make sure that folks are aware of the

dangers when you open those doors and say, "Yes, we're

looking for equipment."

Tips For Accepting and Refusing Donated Equipment

And the "and refusing" is definitely a very

important piece because that becomes a PR piece. Thinking

about some strategic partnerships that you might want to

have and folks that you want to start involving. Marketing

ideas -- in particular, we're talking about hosting an

event and how to create some energy and awareness around

that.

And then, I was hoping that we could share a little

bit about successful practices and lessons learned. And so

we'll go to the next slide -- so be careful what you ask

for.

White Elephants

I'm not sure how many of y'all are familiar with a

white-elephant-gift idea, but we actually, down here, with

our team with Tools For Life have this, kind of,

white-elephant party every year where folks bring things

that are not necessarily bad gifts. They're just things

that you can't use, or you don't want to use, or it could

be random things that just don't fit anymore. But you

know, it's still a good thing.

And this actually came from Thailand where they

would say that -- there was kind of a story that went with

this in Thailand when I was over there. That's when I

first kind of heard about it where the king actually would

give a white elephant -- which is a very prized possession,

a very cool thing to have -- to different countries or

different areas, and it was not necessarily to do them

harm, but they would sometimes go bankrupt trying to take

care of this white elephant, which they really didn't need.

It was not something that was really helping them. But

they also, you know, felt, oh, so honored that they got

this beautiful thing from the king. And so that's kind of

the legend behind the white elephant.

Well, I think there are oftentimes that we get

white elephants in the reuse program because folks

sometimes do see us as a great place to donate that . . .

whatever it is. I have had folks that have wanted to

donate boats. I have had folks that have said, "Oh, gosh,

we can give you our RV because we're upgrading," and that

RV is from, you know, the 1950s, and they think it's a

great thing. And they have a lot of memories around it,

but it's not necessarily what you need for your reuse

program.

Or I've had folks that have said, you know, "Oh,

you can take all this equipment, and you can have the whole

closetful." And you get there and the closet is actually a

warehouse, and it's full of, you know, copy machines and

all kinds of other office equipment that may really be hard

to get rid of. But it may be really valuable.

And so it's important, you know, to just be aware

that it's not easy to turn down free stuff, especially when

we know that so many folks are out there and that have

needs. And when you open up those doors and you see, oh,

gosh, you know, this StairClimber is so wonderful, and I

know somebody will need it. Well, but they may need it in

five years, and there may not be somebody that's waiting

right now for it. And so what ends up happening is that

sometimes that will weigh down your program.

So as your efforts grow and you become more well

known, you may receive some of these offers, and some of

you actually have because I know we've talked about it.

And so these donations -- you just need to be aware of, you

know, several things. Do you have the technical expertise

to fix it if it's broken? If it's outdated, how outdated

is it? If it's missing parts, are those parts vital? And

is this equipment -- even though it's in great condition,

is it really suitable for your organization's needs? Next

slide -- so be careful what you ask for.

Here's a tip. So if an individual or a corporation

approaches you or your organization about donations,

knowing how to gracefully decline can definitely save you

time and the energy and expense of having to recycle

something that you definitely don't want.

I remember I learned this the hard way when

somebody did come in, and they had a vehicle. It sounded

great when they were talking to me. I was thinking, this

would be great. It was an accessible van, and we had these

big ideas that we could use this van to carry computers

around the state, and it came in. And no joke. It was on

its last leg. And it sat there forever. So it was very

frustrating. And so you just want to be careful what you

ask for and also be very, very respectful and graceful in

the way that you decline some of these things because the

person who actually donated the van -- and we did accept

it, and we were able to sell it for, like -- I think it was

about $200 -- actually did end up, a couple years later,

donating about $5,000 to the project. And I think

gracefully declining is probably what kind of kept that

relationship solid.

This is also one of those folks that was a

connector, and they were able to get out there and get --

you know, they were talking all the time about our project

and how great our project was and how it's helping people.

And so just knowing how to balance those things -- it's

very important. Next slide.

So I also wanted to give you some tips for

accepting and refusing donated equipment. And this is not

necessarily -- some of the examples are going to be based

on wheelchairs. Some are going to be based on hospital

beds. Some are going to be based on computers. You can

substitute a lot of different types of equipment for the

tips that I'm going to share here. And I actually stole

these and modified them from Jim Lynch, who has done a

great job within the PC reuse community. He's done a great

job with that.

Tip Number 1

So the first tip is, basically, if you're unsure of

a piece of donated equipment -- if you're not sure that

it's going to be useful to your organization, refer donors

to a refurbisher or recycler. There's a really cool

document out there that we're going to put on the Web site

called "Do the PC Thing." And it's not necessarily just

about PCs, but it's -- so it's kind of a twist on that "PC"

for "personal computer" or "politically correct," but it

actually gives some good tips and kind of raises awareness

for donors as they come in of why you cannot take

everything and why not everything is a great thing to

donate because it can really slow down or totally put you

out of business. And so we'll make sure that you can get

that document.

Tech Soup has a list of recyclers. And that's a

Web site -- Tech Soup. I would encourage you to go visit

that. They also -- those recyclers are not necessarily

just for e-waste, not just for computers or PDAs or cell

phones, but you can actually use some of these recyclers

for other things that you may have. And we also are

compiling a list of recyclers. I've been working on that

for the last few weeks. So we will have that on our Web

site, so you will have access to a wide range of folks that

do recyclers and end-of-life -- address end-of-useful-life

issues. Next slide.

Tip Number 2

The next slide is actually -- the second tip is,

basically, if you need low-cost equipment, seek donations

from a refurbisher. Some of the best donations that we

have gotten have actually been from other folks who are

doing recycling and refurbishing and all of that. We've

gotten PDAs from a group called Collective Good, and they

actually are an end-of-life or recycler for cell phones and

PDAs and all kinds of small electronics. And they've been

one of our best folks for getting that kind of equipment.

We've also gotten computers from recyclers that are

receiving and refurbishers that are -- all their business

is about is breaking it down. And they were, like, "Gosh,

it would be a shame to break this down when it really has

some useful life to it." So they'll get in touch with us.

So that's a helpful group to get in touch with.

I know when I was up in Delaware, there's a group

that's actually doing some of that breaking down of

computers, and they were saying there's some good life left

in some of these computers. So I'm excited to see what

Delaware and what Beth does with the collaboration up there

because that could be a good place to get some equipment.

Another way to get some equipment and find

donations is through online classified ads like Craig's

List and Freecycle, and there's a whole bunch of ones out

there that are very interesting -- or a local newspaper.

And you have to be careful, though, because you could end

up with a lot of stuff that's unusable, and that's where

you get into that very detailed kind of description from

the get-go of what it is exactly you're looking for, that

you are looking for working equipment. And you are looking

for this year and newer or what have you. And if you want

to walk through any of that stuff, we'd be happy to walk

through that with you. So rather than soliciting and

accepting donations from individuals and businesses,

sometimes just contacting that refurbisher can be an easier

thing.

So there are lots of resources out there that can

help you find discounted and refurbished equipment.

Several of those are listed on the next slide, and those

include the National Cristina Foundation. I'm not sure how

many of you are a member of the National Cristina

Foundation. They're doing a lot of revamping of their

services.

I spoke with Yvette Marrin who's the executive

director just the other day. And I have found that that

has been a very valuable resource on a lot of levels for

getting good equipment and getting connected with other

people who are doing what we're doing. They actually

contacted us about two weeks ago because they had received,

I think it was, like, two or three hundred of the tablet

PCs. And they didn't really know what to do with them.

And so they actually sent some of them down to ReBoot, and

ReBoot's been working on it, trying to get software and all

of that and get these up and running. And that's actually

a very cool technology. And so we've talked to some of our

speech therapists around town to see if they could use some

of this equipment. And so it's pretty cool.

But the thing that's so powerful about the National

Cristina Foundation is that we know that they're reputable,

and we know that we can trust the equipment, usually, that

they are connecting us with.

And then there are some other ones, just like I

said -- Tech Soup's list of refurbishers and also the

recycled-computers initiative. Dell's Tech Foundation

actually has a long list of very useful recyclers and folks

that you want to get connected with. So that would be

good. Next slide.

Tip Number 3

The next tip is Tip Number 3: If you accept a

donation, be sure to get the parts and the manuals. I have

run into this, and I have seen it over and over again when

it comes to working with wheelchairs or hospital beds. I

remember trying to figure out a hospital bed. That can be

a very tricky, tricky piece of equipment if you don't know

what you're doing. And so just having that user manual

would have been so helpful. And thankfully, I was able to

download it, and we are, on our Web site, actually putting

together a place where you can get user manuals. That was

one of the things y'all had requested, and we are

definitely doing that. But trying to get all the parts --

I think a lot of times people forget. They'll forget that

one part or that one wheel or the one, you know -- one

little piece that could be the piece that actually makes

the biggest difference. And that piece could be the piece

that actually either makes that something useful for

somebody in your community or something that you're going

to have to send on to the end-of-life recycler.

So you also, in the area of talking about

computers, want to minimize your exposure to liability by

keeping an inventory of computer software documentation

licenses that you receive because you could actually -- if

you have the original disks -- you can use some of those

disks to load software legally.

So, for example, we've had folks that have donated

JAWS to us, and they didn't give us all the documentation,

and they didn't give us the certificates of authenticity.

And they're, like, "Oh, you can use this because I don't

know where all that is." And the truth is, we weren't able

to use it, and then we've had other folks that have brought

in JAWS, and we've said, "Oh, we need this," and they're,

like, "Oh, okay." And they get it and mail it to us, and

then we're able to use it. So staying legal is extremely

important, not just for the big companies when you're

thinking about Microsoft and Freedom Scientific but for a

lot of the smaller companies too.

There seems to be a bigger crackdown on this and

making sure that folks are staying legal, and I'm glad to

see that happen. So we do want to make sure that folks

bring in all the parts and the manuals, and I would just

stress that with folks.

Tip Number 4

Tip Number 4 is another piece of just remembering

all the accessories when it comes to the keyboard, monitor,

mice, printer, modem, any other accessories that folks may

need. A lot of times cables -- people forget cables. I

can't tell you how many times people have brought in pieces

of equipment. They'll bring in a little PDA, and they'll

forget to bring the charger cord, and so you end up only

having the battery life that's on this PDA. And that's

kind of frustrating because, once again, it goes from a

very useful piece of equipment to something that may not be

able to be used. So I would encourage you to go ahead and

encourage folks to bring all the accessories, especially

when you're talking about -- if you're dealing with any

type of electronic devices.

Same thing with our AAC devices that people have

been bringing in. We want to make sure that we get all the

accessories with that also because some of those cords are

a little bit more difficult to find. You can't just jog on

down to the Radio Shack and find it. And once again, it

makes it -- it takes it from that realm of usable to not

usable.

Tip Number 5

Tip Number 5 is deleting personal information from

all equipment, including PCs and PDAs. But I would stretch

this a little bit further because I have found that

sometimes people put identifying information on

wheelchairs, or they'll put it on the back of an AAC

device. They'll put it on all kinds of equipment that you

wouldn't really expect. Or, once again, in those manuals

that you're receiving -- sometimes people will actually

leave information in there that you really don't want to

pass on to the next person. So you want to make sure that

folks have -- if they have not taken that information

out -- that you just look it over one more time to make

sure that you're not passing on personal information.

This gets into all kinds of things that Jessica

Brodey has done a great job of raising our awareness about

when it comes to personal -- HIPAA and being respectful of

privacy and all of that.

For PCs there's some really cool software out there

that some of it is actually free. Kill Disk or Nuke are

actually two that are free, and we actually have those --

we have links to those on our Web site. And once again,

Tech Soup has great free downloads for security and privacy

software. And that's good.

I've also been able to find software that can wipe

a PDA, and there are also little tricks to doing that by

just resetting the PDA and all of that. So we'll have more

information on our Web site about how to do that. We are

getting more and more folks that are reusing PDAs and

wanting to know more about how to wipe the memory and all

of that. So we'll get some more information on the Web

site for that.

Tip Number 6

Our next tip is actually making sure -- and this is

something we've talked a lot about -- is making sure that

we dispose of the equipment, our own equipment that's

obsolete in a responsible way. And once again, we've got a

listing here of folks that actually go to a bigger list --

the National Safety Council's Electronic Equipment

Recyclers -- very, very cool, very helpful Web site.

Also Electronic Industries Alliance has some great

connections that are national, and so you can go to that

Web site and get some more information. And even though

most of these deal with electronics, they also have

connections, as I said before, to ways of getting rid of

your plastics and your aluminums and all the other types of

materials that can get you connected with some of those

other recyclers.

And I wanted to also let you know, Jeremy and I

were in Minnesota last week, and we were there for a

one-day conference that they did that was outstanding.

They had almost a hundred people, maybe over a hundred

people that were there. And one of the groups that was

there was talking about their computer-reuse program. And

they are doing such a good job of recycling the end

products that they're not using anymore, that they are

actually making about a quarter of their budget from that

activity. And I just thought that was outstanding. So

they're sending me more information about how to do that.

And we will definitely share that with you.

The next slide actually talks more about some of

those partnerships that we've talked about a little bit in

the past, and we're going to continue talking about these.

So I want to just ask: Are y'all working with public

schools and with private schools when it comes to getting

more, locating equipment? I know just having those

connections and having those doors open, you know, where

folks can donate has made a big difference because a lot of

times those public schools, they'll go ahead and write off

the equipment. And rather than sending it to state surplus

or to their county surplus or their city surplus, they'll

go ahead and just bring over a truckload of the AT

equipment. And that's wonderful. That's very nice that

they're doing that. And we're seeing an increase in that.

Private schools often have a different way of

getting rid of equipment, and a lot of times I think we

forget that some of these private schools do have equipment

that we can use.

Funeral homes -- that's one that a lot of times

people overlook in their community. But almost every state

has a group of funeral home directors or what have you, and

you can actually talk with that group, that association and

get information out to them so that they can pass that on

to folks that they're serving. And so that's another way

of raising awareness. And actually, we've seen, in some

communities, where the funeral home has actually taken this

on as an initiative where folks can drop off that

equipment, or they'll even pick up the equipment, which I

think is really cool.

We actually have a funeral home here that's pretty

big, and they started doing that and trying to get that

equipment back into the hands of other reusers, you know,

groups that do reutilization. And that's some place that I

hadn't really thought about, but sure enough, it's making a

difference.

Hospice is another one. I have been so impressed

with the way that hospice does do a lot of reutilization.

And I've talked to some of the folks. I didn't realize

that they were doing as much as they are. But they're also

looking for organizations to connect with because they

don't have storage space, and they don't have the expertise

to claim this equipment. Sometimes when folks die -- and

I'm sure y'all know this -- some people want that

equipment, and they just want it to stay in their home.

They're just not ready to let go of it.

There was a person I was working with who had --

her son passed, and he was an AAC user, and she just liked

having his AAC device around. And when she was ready to

let go of it and pass it on, she took great care and

brought it over. We talked a lot about that and knew the

value of that and found a really good home for this device.

There are other folks that have actually said, "I

cannot look at this one more day," and they'll actually,

you know, in the dead of night, drop off equipment just

because, you know, they just can't have it in their space

anymore. So hospice and funeral homes, good contacts for

locating equipment.

Hospitals are another one. And we're finding that

actually a lot of hospitals are getting some really

high-tech equipment. I'm going to talk in a little bit

more detail about that in just a minute, but that's another

one that we want to make sure is on our list that you're

connecting with.

Tourist attractions -- I was actually in Texas, and

I was meeting with the Project MEND folks who are actually

really progressive in the way that they're thinking, and

they were, like, "We've got Sea World here, and we've got

Six Flags." I think it's Fiesta Texas or something, and

they're actually going to contact them. I know that some

other groups have actually worked well with Disney and, you

know, Six Flags and other tourist attractions because often

these places -- they do have equipment. They have

scooters, and the battery will go dead. And sometimes they

want to just get rid of the scooter and get a new scooter

because they have some more money, or they want something

that looks a little nicer or a newer model. So sometimes

they're donating. And same thing with their wheelchairs,

manual wheelchairs and then also just their equipment in

general.

There's a tourist attraction that actually

contacted me not long ago with a bar-code system that they

were using, and they wanted to find out who they could get

that to, so I was able to connect them up with some folks.

Airports -- another place that goes through a lot

of equipment and often has, you know, some high-tech

equipment. Once again, you want to think about those

earlier slides that I was telling you about. If somebody

says, "Hey, we've got this great plane we can give you,"

I'm not so sure -- yes, it may be nice to have a plane,

especially if you're in some of these big states. But I'm

not so sure that that's what you need for your

organization. But there's definitely other equipment that

we can use from airports.

Some other groups that we definitely want to make

sure that we're working with are DME vendors. Often when

folks are getting new DME, durable medical equipment, they

need to have a place to get rid of their older equipment

because they absolutely do not have any space at all for

the new equipment. And so we see programs that are

actually connecting with DME vendors, and the DME vendor

will pick up the old equipment when they drop off the new

equipment and transport it back to their location. And

that's very cool.

When we were in Minnesota last week, I actually

talked to a group that's a DME vendor, and they actually

say that they get about 25 to 30 wheelchairs that are

really nice that are being reused a month, and these are

all-power wheelchairs because folks are upgrading. And

that's pretty cool. And so figuring out a way to work with

our DME vendors can be really valuable.

Donation centers -- and I'm talking in particular

about Salvation Armies and Goodwills and all of those -- a

lot of times they're getting this equipment because they

have all these drop-off locations, but they don't really

know what to do with it. So going over, educating them

about, "If you see these devices --" and actually giving

pictures may be helpful. We've done that before here --

showing them pictures and saying, "If you see this device,

this device, this device, this device, please keep this for

us and call us when you get these." And sure enough,

they're doing that.

Stores like electronic stores or computer stores

are also very good because a lot of times when people are

buying new equipment, they are not so sure what to do with

their old equipment. So being there either at the point of

sale -- we did a little drive one time where we actually

had -- or a little campaign where we had all the computer

stores within a certain radius that actually every time

somebody bought a new computer, they would put a little

postcard in the bag that would say "Donate your old

computer to ReBoot." And so we were able to get some

donations that way, and then that was really good.

And also getting connected with Medicaid,

Vocational Rehabilitation, raising awareness in those

arenas -- Veterans' Administration -- very helpful. We're

going to talk a little bit more about that towards the end

of the slide. And we do have a task force, if you

remember, one of our task forces working with third-party

payers, and so this is one of those areas that we're hoping

to get more information about. How can we work closer with

them nationally, locally? How can you work closer with

these groups so that we can locate equipment in a bigger

way? Kansas, as you know, has done an outstanding job when

it comes to their model with Medicaid.

Churches and synagogues -- another area you might

want to get connected with. Strategic partnerships with

them can be really valuable, and once again, there's lots

of associations -- the Presbyterian Church Association, the

Catholic Church Association. Here in Atlanta we have

several synagogues that are very connected, and so you can

go and talk to them either when maybe their business

administrators are meeting or when some of their ministers

are meeting, when their missionaries are meeting, and just

tell them about your initiative. And you'd be surprised

how much you can get, as far as support and awareness, just

by talking with them.

The area agencies on aging -- their care-services

folks have been really valuable too. I've seen them

throughout the country where they are raising awareness,

and they actually are very good contacts for locating

equipment because a lot of times they know that so and so

has passed, and you know, they don't know what to do with

this equipment. Or sometimes people will actually bring

the equipment to them.

And then other service organizations -- and I'm

going to talk in a little bit more detail about them in

just a second. So our next slide. And I'm going to pause

here and see if y'all have any questions about that. Okay.

We'll move forward.

So partners in your community -- I said I was going

to talk a little bit more about the hospitals. The folks

that I usually connect with and that I've encouraged other

folks to connect with are usually operations-manager-type

folks. It's not necessarily the head of the hospital. You

can -- especially if you have relatives that are in charge

of the hospital -- that's a good thing. Sometimes it could

be, you know, nurses or doctors or other folks that are

working there. But a lot of times the operations managers

are the ones that really do know, kind of, where the

equipment is, what kind of condition it's in, how much

equipment they really have. And they're often motivated to

get that equipment out and get it out of that basement or

get it out of that closet or what have you. So those are

the folks that you want to get in touch with.

Some of the larger law firms in your community --

if you talk to their computer-system managers or their IT

directors or what have you, a lot of times they have

surplus equipment because they're upgrading at a more rapid

rate than a lot of other folks. I'm also finding that a

lot of these law firms have PDAs. They've got some of the

higher-end technologies that are really cool and really

helpful. And so you can get in touch with them. And

that's a good contact.

Other ones that you might want to get in touch with

would be local insurance firms. We have several of those

in the Atlanta area, and I've also known in other states

where, you know, the insurance firms have been quick to

upgrade their equipment. And so you can actually get the

equipment from them, and then we've actually seen where

some of these folks -- the insurance companies will put

their -- put an advertisement or something like that on the

Web site. So if they're actually providing insurance to

folks, that lets people know about this resource in their

own community. And also, some of the insurance companies

have also given -- some of them have foundations, and they

like to work locally, and so they will actually give a

donation -- which is nice -- of money.

Checking with your surplus department in the state,

city, county that you live in can actually be another way

to get some really good equipment, and you just want to

make sure that you're following those surplus guides very

appropriately. I've run into folks throughout the country,

actually, that have had some problems getting into their

surplus and then other folks that have had no problem at

all. But a lot of times we forget that it's not just

federal surplus or state surplus, but that sometimes

there's city, and sometimes there's county surplus and

making sure that we're covering all of those -- all of

those bases.

The next slide -- actually, one more slide. The

next slide talks more about that surplus that I was talking

about and also trying to get connected with folks who are

making your e-waste policies and who are trying to find the

resources.

I know in Georgia our Department of Natural

Resources -- that's the group that actually has put

together a Web site, and they've put together a brochure,

and they're updating this all the time. And when I asked

our contact here, "How does this work in other states?" he

said, "It's actually popping up all over where that's the

department." It may be called something different in your

state, but that's the department that actually is getting,

you know, this information out to folks. And so trying to,

you know, make sure that you're on their list or connected

with them can be very, very helpful.

And then also, reaching out to some of the other

folks that are making some of these big decisions and

sitting, you know, around in the recycling trade -- at the

recycling-trade-organization meetings and what have you to

gather information, but also becoming part of the

conversation.

I've talked about this experience, you know,

several times. At Georgia Tech they actually have pulled

together a task force where they're looking at disposal of

equipment, and it's not just electronics. It's not just

e-waste. But it's equipment in general. And being a part

of that conversation has actually raised their awareness as

well as our awareness. And so you want to make sure that

you're part of the conversation as policies are being

developed and all of that. And so I'm going to talk a

little bit more about that in just a minute.

The next slide, actually, is a -- it's a picture.

It's actually a shot from a Web site that is the GSA, the

U.S. General Services Administration's Web site. And I

don't know how many of y'all have actually visited this

site. I visit it pretty often just -- well, for many

reasons. But it is interesting what you'll find up there.

And today -- well, yesterday they actually had all these

travel trailers and mobile homes. I don't know that any of

our programs need the travel trailers or mobile homes, but

they do have those up and property of FEMA. And what I've

actually found is that different groups will post or

feature different pieces of equipment that they've got. So

I have found things -- all kinds of things up there on this

Web site and have been able to get some of this equipment,

which is good, and it's just a matter of getting connected

with folks.

NASA, actually, was upgrading a lot of their

systems. They were actually moving away from a certain PDA

to another PDA, so they had several hundred PDAs that they

were going to get rid of. And so that was good, and I

actually pointed some folks that direction.

There's often computers that are up here from

different government agencies. I've also found things like

braille printers or other types of equipment like that that

have made their way through to the federal surplus, and now

they're trying to move them. And so it's good to visit

this every now and then and also see if there's a federal

surplus site in your state. I know there's a lot of these

around the country. We have one here, and I know there's

several around the country. So you want to make sure that

you're in touch with these folks.

Another thing when we're talking about kind of

getting out there, getting your information out there is

just simple things like creating a flyer. It's amazing how

just creating a simple flyer that you can put everywhere

can really make a big difference, so -- or a postcard. You

can get these, you know, flyers or postcards pretty cheap.

And just, you know, state what it is you're looking for --

going back to the earlier sites that I was talking about --

state what you're looking for and make sure that they have

all the information -- a map to your site, an accurate

phone number, if you are giving tax deductions, that

information and all -- and also, kind of, your wish list

because you never know what people have. And then,

whenever I go out and talk to folks or whenever other folks

go out and talk, we make sure that we actually get these

flyers out. And you can give these flyers out to all the

groups that we just talked about -- the schools -- private,

public schools, to VR counselors, to any number of folks.

But you can also give them out to service

organizations like your Lyon's Club, Toastmasters. Those

are folks that like to talk. So get the information out to

them. Chambers of commerce have actually been very good at

getting this information out. And sometimes whenever folks

are new to town or a new business joins, they'll give them

a whole packet of information, and in there could be your

flyer.

Doctor's offices has been another really good one

that we have found that actually is very helpful. Because

if you think about it, a lot of times people are sitting

and waiting in doctor's offices and thinking about things,

and you know, here you could give them something to think

about, a way to help out your organization. And a lot of

doctor's offices really seem to be open to letting you put

your information out there, and so that's nice.

So other places that people gather in your

community -- that's where you kind of want to have these

flyers or postcards. And a lot of times we just put them

out and then, you know, let folks pick them up as they

wish.

There's low-cost and even free postcards online at

Vista Print. I don't know how many of you have visited

that, but I'd encourage you to visit this Web site because

you can get some really nice, professional-looking

postcards either at very low cost or for free. So check it

out.

The next slide actually talks about some places

that you can place ads and success stories and things like

that. I was surprised -- I was flipping through the paper

online actually and saw in the obituary section where

somebody had actually placed an ad about reusing their

equipment and that you can donate the equipment at this

location and all of that. I'm trying to get some

information as to, was the ad free or what have you? But I

thought it was a very interesting place to put this ad, and

I was just going to try and get some information from them

as far as what was their response? And I thought, you

know, that's something I hadn't really thought about, but

it might be a good location.

Hospital newsletters -- once again, if your name is

associated with a certain hospital that's really reputable

and has a great reputation in your community and they could

do a little success story, why not have your information in

there? Because a lot of times people are reading these

newsletters because, once again, folks are sitting there,

don't really have a bunch to do sometimes at the hospital,

and they could learn more about you. What could they do

that would be better than that?

DME vendor newsletters -- often they're looking for

some stories and things, and so we've actually found some

DME vendors that are very happy to have you place an ad and

talk about a success story, especially if it's something

where the vendor has gotten a certain piece of equipment,

and then you helped them with another piece of equipment,

and you were able to really help the person in a joint way.

And so that's where I've seen some of those success stories

coming into play.

The next slide actually talks about joining

national events. And one of those events that you could

get involved with -- and this is just one of many that's

kind of like a national effort -- is Earth 911. It's

actually got a Web site, earth911.org, and they have a

toll-free recycling hotline that is -- I think it's

1-800-CLEAN-UP. I'm pretty sure that's what that says.

And it provides local recycling locations for e-waste but

also other types of information. And they -- when I had

talked with them about, you know, does it have to

necessarily be end-of-life recycling and we talked a little

bit about the definitions and all of that, they were open

to having a conversation about, you know, defining that a

little further so that we could be more active in their

effort because they've actually had a lot of success. They

had a lot of success during Earth Day.

And I know Kansas participated in an Earth Day

event, and some other folks did, too, and have done that in

the past. So it would be nice to be part of a national

effort and get some recognition for that.

This one is interesting in that you can enter your

ZIP Code, and you can get a comprehensive list of items and

locations and all of that. So I'm not saying that we

necessarily have to join this group, but just be more aware

of the national effort that's going on.

The next slide actually is a Web site. I captured

a Web page here, and it's actually from our Iowa partners.

Jane Gay worked together with Easter Seals in Iowa, and

they did an equipment drive. And this was a

durable-medical-equipment drive or medical-equipment-drive

donation day. It actually was in April, April 29th, and

this is a press release that they did. And so just trying

to raise awareness on many levels and trying to attract

many different folks can be a really good thing. And it

was nice to see their -- their press release pop up.

It was one of the first things that actually popped

up. If you typed in "medical equipment drive," it's, like,

one of the first sites that pops up, and so you could,

obviously, go there and get some information as to how they

framed their story. And we're collecting these, too, so

that can give y'all some resources as to how to write a

press release that, maybe, would raise some awareness, what

type of language to use. Maybe some folks would be more

connected with medical equipment, as opposed to, you know,

some other type of language that we might want to use. So

I thought it was an interesting way that they actually did

this. And I was going to contact Jane and find out how

that drive actually went.

We've heard of other folks doing equipment drives

that have been very successful. For example, in Minnesota

there's a computer project that did an equipment drive.

They had 700 people donate, and they actually raised

$31,000, and that was $31,000 that they raised in one day

through their equipment drive. They actually had folks

donate when they were giving their computer just to cover

some of the cost. And I thought that was very interesting

because I think that actually when I did the math, it's

like $45 a computer or something like that, which is kind

of what's going on at a national average of, if you're

going to donate a computer, that's often what it ends up

costing. But it's very interesting that they were able to

raise that kind of money.

And some other folks are doing equipment drives

just on a regular basis, and sometimes they start out very

slow, and then they start to grow. I know Project MEND,

when I was meeting with them a couple of weeks ago, they

had done an equipment drive -- their first one -- and they

are hoping to build that up. And sometimes it's just a

matter of having it as an annual event, having it as

something people are aware is going to happen. And it's

going to happen on this day, or it's going to happen in

this month, and that's what happens.

The one in Minnesota has actually been going on for

a long time, and they said they've been doing it for almost

five years. And I was very impressed by that. I thought

$31,000 in one day, 700 donations -- that's pretty good.

So the other thing when it comes to equipment

drives that, you know, folks want to pay attention to is

actually connecting with the bigger groups or other groups.

And the next slide actually talks a little bit about that.

Goodwill did a donation day at the zoo, and this was

actually in Pittsburgh, and it was the Pittsburgh Zoo. So

they were very smart. They did it at a place where people

were gathering. This happened in 2007. And we can share

this with you too. This is just their information about

what happened, when they did it. They did it to celebrate

Earth Day. And it seemed like it was very successful from

what I read.

We've done some computer drives, donation drives,

and we've usually done that in collaboration with other

groups. So for example, when Dell came around, they did a

big tour in 2003 -- and I don't know if many of you were

aware of that -- but they received nationally -- I think

they hit 13 cities -- and they received over 200,000 tons

of equipment. It was crazy how much equipment.

In Georgia we collected, on the day that they came,

74 tons of equipment, so that was a lot of equipment. In

exchange, we actually got a lot of really good press, plus

we got some really cool volunteers to help us out. We did

it over at the Georgia Tech Center. That's actually their

coliseum, and it's right off the expressway. CNN came out

and covered this event. A lot of local media came out and

covered it. And it really raised a lot of awareness about

what we're trying to do. It was a drive-through where

folks literally just drove through. They didn't get out of

their car. They picked up information, as far as their tax

information, at the very beginning. Then they went to the

next station where we emptied out their car, and then they

drove on, and they got a nice little goody bag at the very

end, and then off they went. So it literally took them no

time at all to drive through, and it was an amazing event.

And so I actually have some information about how we did

that and would be happy to share that with you.

I've asked Dell if they're going to do this again

because it would be cool to be able to do that kind of

event again, but you know, they're still not sure if that's

the direction they're headed. So anyway, that's one way to

do it. So I could see a very cool event like that

happening in some other cities and making sure that it's

just a very smooth thing and a different way of doing it.

So when we did it over at Georgia Tech, one of the

nice things was, as I said, it was right off the

expressway. But also, we had a lot of folks that were

willing to volunteer because they were college students and

any number of other folks that just, you know, wanted to

come and help out. We actually had some donors get out of

their car, and they came and helped out, and that was very

nice. And we fed everybody, so that was good.

The next slide actually talks a little bit about --

it doesn't really -- it's just showing you Craig's List,

&nb