Sunday, January 31, 2010

One Laptop Per Child

I was driving through San Jose the other day and I saw a billboard for OLPC and I got an idea for a new regular blog posting. I do pretty OK for myself, and it’d be nice to give back in some way shape or form. At the same time, it’d also be nice to start highlighting different charities that are maybe off the beaten path but who do good work.

The basic concept is this – once a month I’m going to donate to and highlight some charity. The only restriction is that it can’t be a famous charity – so no Red Cross, Goodwill, etc. Not to say they don’t do fantastic work, they do, but they get enough press. There’s also no restriction based on religion. If they do something worthwhile, they’re worth acknowledging. And if you have a suggestion, by all means let me know.

It only seems fair that the first charity I highlight is the one that was the inspiration for this category – OLPC. The goal of the organization is to donate laptops to children in developing nations, a need that desperately needs to be filled. Often times developing nations seem to get squeezed out when it comes to charity dollars. Everyone donates to third world countries that are battling just to stay alive, but once a nation progresses beyond this, or is simply already beyond that state, they are sort of forgotten. In order for nations to develop on the world stage they need technology; they need laptops.

The normal way OLPC works is you buy a laptop at $200 which is donated. They’re certainly not the most powerful laptops, but the important part is merely that children are exposed to technology. You can also simply donate to the cause, which is what I chose to do.

You can donate (if the spirit moves) here.

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